Origins: A Young Severus Snape Story COMPLETE
by FullMoonDreams
Summary: The story of the whole of Severus Snape's first year at Hogwart's with the young Marauders & future Death Eaters. Told entirely from Snape's POV. Now HBP and DH compliant. Please read and review.
1. First Impressions: The Hogwart's Express

_Disclaimer: The characters and places in this story are all the property of JK Rowling. I have merely borrowed them and given them my own little twist._

_Rating: PG_

_Note: I use the HP Lexicon as a reference and if the information is not concrete in there I make it up to suit the story. Various secondary characters are placed in years that are most convenient_

_This story and the Lupin story are now HBP and DH compliant. The changes include things like Andromeda being placed in the correct house and Professor Mistry becoming Professor Slughorn (as was pointed out to me, he was practically in character anyway so just needed a name change). The first couple of parts on the Snape story are very much in the tone of my Snape POVs, using the information we discover in DH and elaborating and extending on the same. I hope you don't mind.  
_

_Some changes are small some are larger, however if you have already read the story so far you will NOT have to re-read it in order to make sense of what is happening. There are a few little things that haven't been altered but they are things that will either _

_- Mean those already following the story will have to re-read_

_- Be impossible to alter because they affect the main plot (yeah I do actually have one – despite appearances to the contrary!)_

_- Probably small enough that they won't be noticed but too difficult to change (e.g. I put free classes (on the mornings following Astronomy classes) into the time tables for the first years which they shouldn't have until the sixth year. Since it took forever to get a working timetable for the two of houses and I have it for reference throughout altering it now would be practically impossible.) _

_This story is designed to run alongside my Origins: A Young Remus Lupin Story. They do stand alone but please consider checking out the other one too._

_Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this story and especially to those who take the time to leave reviews. They are much appreciated._

**Origins: A Young Severus Snape Story**

**Part 1 - First Impressions - The Hogwart's Express**

Platform 9¾ was almost deserted at half past nine on the morning of the first of September.

An attendant skimmed through the Daily Prophet whilst his charmed broom cleaned the platform of litter. It was clear to anyone who observed him that the attendant had no interest in his job, after all what was the point of cleaning the platform now? In a couple of hours hundreds of students and their families would have passed through the barrier between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross Station, bringing with them rubbish and leaving it to be cleaned all over again.

For the time being though the platform was free of students.

The Hogwart's Express had pulled alongside the platform and was awaiting the numerous students and occasional professor who would be climbing on board shortly before 11am to make the long journey northwards to the castle which was Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Some would be making the journey to the school for the final time, others for the first. But the thing they all had in common was that they were all lucky enough to be going to the finest school for witches and wizards in the world.

The first of the students began to arrive a little after 10am. Those who had travelled to King's Cross by muggle train had to make sure that they didn't leave things too late. The last thing they wanted to do was to miss the one and only train that would take them to school.

Once the first students had arrived the platform began to fill as more and more students and their families hurried through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. By quarter to eleven the platform was positively teeming with people and cries of recognition echoed back and forth on the warm autumn morning.

As was usual many of the quietest of the students were those who were going to Hogwarts for the very first time.

One such student was a small, dark-haired, scrawny looking boy. He was wearing mismatched muggle clothing and was standing silently by a sour-faced looking woman who the observant would easily recognise was his mother.

Unlike most of the new students Severus Snape was lucky enough to know someone else who was going to be attending Hogwarts for the first time. His sharp eyes scanned the platform for several minutes as he tried to find the familiar face of Lily Evans amongst the masses.

Finally a portly woman stepped aside and Severus saw Lily standing with her parents and sister.

He wanted to go across and talk to her but something held him back.

She was talking to her sister who looked as though she wished she were anywhere but on the platform. Severus knew that the muggle schools wouldn't be starting back for a few more days and that Petunia would be going to one of those. Unlike her younger sister the elder of the Evans girls was not a witch.

Severus couldn't make out their words, the loud chatter of the crowd drowned out both of the girls, but from where he stood he could tell that their conversation was not going well. Petunia looked as angry as he'd ever seen her – not that he'd seen her look any other way – and he didn't fail to notice the look of venom that she shot his way at something her sister had said. He felt his face flush as he realised that he was the topic of conversation.

He had almost convinced himself to go across to the girls when he felt a hand on his shoulder guiding him towards the train. Submitting to the slight pressure he made sure that his pet toad was secured, grabbed one of the handles of his trunk and climbed aboard the Hogwart's Express.

He stowed his trunk in the first compartment he came to. He hadn't realised how close to 11am it was until he felt the train begin to move slightly. He wondered whether to make his way back into the corridor to wave to his mother on the platform. But he knew he'd never manage to push his way through the crowd of students that clustered around every window on that side of the train.

Instead he opened up his trunk and quickly pulled out his school robes. After a cautious glance at the compartment door to confirm that no one was looking in his direction he swiftly pulled off the muggle clothing and replaced them with his uniform. The robes were second hand but they were a still far better fit than the smock and jeans he'd worn for the journey to King's Cross.

He didn't know which carriage Lily was in but he knew that it wouldn't take long to find her.

Pushing his muggle clothes to the bottom of his trunk he closed the same and stepped back into the corridor as the other students began to make their way towards the various compartments.

Severus looked into several compartments without success. Most students merely ignored him, and let him move on. The corridors of the train were crowded and he wasn't the only student who appeared to be searching for friends who had not been located before the departure time.

The sounds of loud laughter came from the open door of the next compartment in the carriage and Severus poked his head in the door, hopeful again that in this one he'd find Lily.

It was clear that Severus had walked in at the end of some joke and he smiled at the older students who he could tell were from the school house he was hoping to be sorted into…Slytherin. The blond-haired boy wearing a prefect badge appeared to have been the one who had told the joke and Severus hovered in the doorway wondering if someone would fill him in on the amusing anecdote that the rest of the students in the compartment had just been regaled with. There were two seats free in the compartment – if the others moved their items and animals – and Severus wondered whether they might invite him and Lily to join them.

"The other first years are down that end," said the prefect, pointing further down the train in the direction Severus had been headed.

Severus looked around the compartment unsure what to say in the face of the hostile glances aimed in his direction.

"That way," repeated the boy, rather more sharply.

"What do you think Lucius? Is he deaf or daft?" asked a plump looking brown haired boy as he dipped his hand into a box of sweets.

"N-n-n-neither," stammered Severus, though his feet just refused to move.

"T-t-t-that way," mimicked the dark haired girl as she petted the grey cat who apparently qualified as good enough to sit with them. Everyone in the compartment burst into laughter at her clever imitation, Lucius laughing the loudest of all.

Severus backed out of the door and hurried in the direction of the rest of the first years, sure he'd find Lily and a warmer welcome soon.

A few minutes later he finally found her sitting in the corner of a compartment. There was a group of rowdy boys nearest the door while Lily herself sat hunched in a corner next to the window.

Severus slid open the compartment door, moved straight past the talking boys, and sat down opposite Lily. She glanced at him and then looked back out of the window. He could see that she had been crying and wondered briefly what had happened.

He hadn't even opened his mouth to speak when Lily broke her silence.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a constricted voice.

"Why not?" Severus asked, at a total loss why she'd say such a thing.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?" he blurted before he could stop himself. He didn't need to ask which letter she was talking about. He knew perfectly well it was the one the headmaster of Hogwarts had sent to the muggle girl who'd begged to be able to attend the school with her younger sister.

Lily threw him a look of deep dislike. He drew back a little in surprise at the hostility in his friend's face. They'd had arguments before but he'd been sure that they were past them now.

"So she's my sister!" Lily exclaimed.

"She's only a –" Severus caught himself quickly and was relieved to see that Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, had not heard him. He knew from experience that she disliked it when he discarded Petunia because of her status as a muggle.

""But we're going!" he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

Lily nodded, mopping her eyes, and he was relieved to see a small half smile playing on her lips. He felt himself smiling wider in response.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," he said, encouraged that she had brightened a little.

"Slytherin?"

Severus wondered how he could have forgotten to tell her about the various houses at Hogwarts in all the time they'd known each other.

Before he could remedy the situation however, one of the boys sharing the compartment, voiced his opinion first.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" the slight, black-haired boy asked the boy lounging on the seats opposite him.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," the boy he was speaking to said without smiling.

"Blimey," said the first boy, "and I thought you seemed all right!"

The second boy grinned.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

Severus watched as the first boy lifted an invisible sword.

"_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!_" Like my dad."

Severus had watched the exchange with interest but at the boy's words he could not stop the small, disparaging noise escaping. The boy turned to him with a hard look.

"Got a problem with that?" he asked.

"No," replied Severus although he couldn't keep the sneer from his voice any more than he could resist adding "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected the second boy.

The first boy roared with laughter.

Severus was saved from trying to think up a smart retort by Lily. She appeared to have forgotten her earlier desire not to talk to him and was now sitting up, rather flushed, and looking at the two boys with dislike.

"Come on Severus, let's find another compartment," she said as she stood up and glared at the others.

"Oooooo…"

The two boys imitated her lofty voice as she marched past them and out of the door. Severus stood up to follow her and felt himself stumble slightly as an outstretched leg of the would-be Gryffindor was deliberately manoeuvred into his path.

"See ya, Snivellus!" a voice called as the compartment door slammed behind them. He wasn't sure he'd heard correctly but put it from his mind. As long as he was in Slytherin with Lily he'd be happy and would probably have little to do with the boys they had just left.


	2. Choices: The Sorting Hat

**Part 2 - Choices – The Sorting Hat**

Severus staggered from the boat that had taken them across the lake. His pale face was an even whiter shade than usual and had he taken the time to eat much of anything on the train he did not doubt that the rocking motion of the boats on the lake would have made him sick.

He was completely oblivious to the stunning view of Hogwart's Castle. He had never been on a boat of any type before and he was grateful that only the first year students were taken to the school over the water. If he had to travel by water every year he didn't think he'd make it.

The only person who was in worse shape than him was a small boy named Peter who had actually been sick.

Walking alongside Lily with the crowd of students up to the castle he listened half-heartedly to Hagrid the Gamekeeper as he pointed out various things of interest on their way up the path.

A light rain was falling by the time they reached the entrance where Hagrid left them in the care of a stern faced witch was introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.

The Professor gave them a quick run down of the rules before leaving them and going ahead into the Great Hall to make the final preparations for the Sorting Ceremony.

Severus looked about him from where he stood at the back of the crowd. The light breeze from an open window helped to take away the last of the feeling of queasiness.

Lily had wandered off after they'd come inside and now that he felt less ill he searched for her again. Before finding her he did see the two boys who had been so rude to them both standing near the foot of the stairs. They were laughing with a couple of boys he didn't recognise. It might have been his imagination but he thought that he saw them glance in his direction rather more than would be normal.

He turned purposefully away and soon spotted Lily's dark red hair amidst a group of girls who were fawning over a snowy white cat perched on top of the trunks that were waiting to be taken to the dormitories. He knew they'd be moved just as soon as it was clear which ones were to go where.

Severus spotted his own battered trunk and smiled at the thought of it soon being delivered down to the Slytherin quarters.

Severus was pulled out of his thoughts by the approach of Peter who also seemed to have recovered from his journey across the lake.

"You're into the dark arts?" he asked in a slightly quavering voice.

"Yeah," replied Severus – he was interested in everything magical. He was curious as to why Peter should want to know. Though he had a suspicion his query stemmed from his friends having told him about his wanting to be in Slytherin. He looked across at the others. So they thought that just because he wanted to be in Slytherin he was some future dark wizard, did they? Maybe they'd leave him alone if they believed that? Before he even thought about what he was saying he blurted out "I know more curses than half the seventh year already."

Peter glanced behind him to where the others were looking over towards them. Severus scowled as he caught the looks of anticipation on their faces.

"The dark arts are dying out," continued Peter in a slightly louder voice. "Only losers bother to study them. Isn't that right James?"

"Sure is," James called back. "Right Sirius?"

Severus looked towards the messy haired boy – James – who was now laughing along with the nodding Sirius. He turned back to reply to Peter but he had quickly left him and was now returning to his new friends.

"Maybe you are brave enough to be in Gryffindor after all!" said James laughing and clapping Peter on the back. "Standing up to the dark arts expert like that." Peter stood flushed and grinning. His acceptance into the group was sealed.

Severus felt his face grow warm again and he approached James, his anger rising.

"You have a problem with me?" he demanded in a quiet hiss of a whisper.

He vaguely heard the sound of Lily's quiet tones advising him to leave things be but he stood his ground.

"Yeah," replied James, "I have a problem with all dark wizards. What of it? What you going to do? Curse me?"

"I just might," growled Severus, reaching into his robes for his wand.

"Go on then," egged on James, in a louder voice. More and more of the other first years turned in their direction. James looked around, playing to the crowd. They all seemed to be on his side.

Severus held his wand higher and pointed it at James. His hand shook slightly.

"What are you waiting for?" asked James. "Some dark wizard we have here. Can't even manage a single hex. Pathetic."

A number of other students laughed, including Sirius and Peter.

Severus stood silently, his anger rising and his wand still pointed at James. In all his life he had never loathed anyone as much as he loathed James at that moment.

That same loathing was reflected in James whose laughing expression had dissolved into a look of disgust and hatred.

"What's going on here?" the voice of Professor McGonagall echoed through the entrance hall. "Put that wand away immediately."

Severus quickly stashed his wand back into his robes and stepped away from James with a last look of venom that was returned in kind.

"Were you not listening when I explained the rules of this school? This is the exact sort of behaviour that will result in the loss of points for your houses."

Severus looked down at his scuffed shoes as Professor McGonagall continued to lecture them.

"Since you aren't even sorted into your houses yet I can't deduct points from you but you will both serve detention for your actions this evening."

Severus nodded and glanced at James whose look of loathing had gone and was now replaced with a contrite expression and he too nodded.

"Now let's all go into the Great Hall and get on with the Sorting Ceremony. I believe the two of you have held things up for long enough and everyone would like to eat tonight."

Professor McGonagall turned away and swept into the hall leaving the students to follow behind her.

"Later," muttered James to Severus as he turned back to his friends.

Severus knew he would regret it later but some perverse part of him wanted to see James suffer right then. They were all at the back of the crowd and as soon as Professor McGonagall had gone through the doors to the Great Hall he pulled his wand out once more.

Muttering the hex quietly so as not to bring Professor McGonagall back through the doors he pointed his wand at James and watched as he tripped on the stairs.

Quickly stashing his wand back into his robes he made to move past them and into the hall.

"Coward," called James as he scrambled to his feet. "You couldn't beat me in a fair duel. Only a sneak attack like that."

Severus turned back to James. "I can beat you in a duel any time."

"Prove it," James glanced to the door where the other students had walked through into the hall. Sirius stood waiting at the door and indicated to hurry up. "I'll let you know where and when."

"Fine," answered Severus. "I'll look forward to beating you."

He followed James and Sirius into the hall where they hurried to catch up with the rest of the year. No one seemed to have noticed that they were late.

The Sorting Hat was finishing its yearly song as they joined their classmates. Severus stood beside Lily and watched as she stood gazing at the Hat with a rapt but slightly nervous expression on her face.

Severus watched as Sirius Black was called up to the stool and sat down. The hat seemed to deliberate a little as to where to place him. It seemed torn between Slytherin and Gryffindor although it finally seemed to decide that his courage outweighed the fact that most of his family had been in Slytherin. Sirius looked delighted as he moved towards the Gryffindor table where they broke into loud cheers.

It wasn't long before Lily was called to the stool. Severus held his breath as he watched her nervously make her way to where Professor McGonagall stood waiting with the hat.

He stood silently as he mentally willed the Hat to cry out Slytherin. She took her place on the stool. He didn't dare dwell on the thought that she might be sorted elsewhere. He watched silently as the Hat was placed on her head and cried out '_Gryffindor!_' a second later. He couldn't help the groan that escaped from his lips as she hurried towards Sirius and the rest of the Gryffindors.

He caught her sad smile directed at him but couldn't bring himself to return the same.

The hat was sometimes quick at sorting students, others it found more difficult. Although Remus Lupin was quickly put into Gryffindor it was some time before the hat decided to let Peter Pettigrew join that house. James Potter also went to Gryffindor.

Severus alternately looked towards Lily and the Sorting Hat as he waited his turn. He'd wanted to be in Slytherin for so long, but now for the first time he considered that maybe he'd rather be in Gryffindor. He didn't think he had the same values as that house, if he bothered to consider them in detail he'd be sure that he didn't, but it was the house where Lily was. Unfortunately it was also the house that James, Sirius and their friends had been sorted into.

Did he want to spend seven years in their company?

He was still undecided about where he wanted to be placed when he heard his own name called and he moved forward to take his place on the stool. The hat hmmed and ahhed for a moment as though unsure of where to place him.

"Intelligent, yes. A sharp mind and an eagerness to learn. Ravenclaw perhaps…."

"No," whispered Severus. "Not Ravenclaw."

"No?"

Severus looked about the room and caught sight of James Potter sitting at the Gryffindor table. Lily was momentarily forgotten, his hatred for the other boy forefront in his mind as the next thought popped into his mind.

"Not Gryffindor, anything but Gryffindor."

"Not Gryffindor, eh? I see ambition here, Slytherin perhaps?"

Severus squeezed his eyes shut as the Hat contemplated where to place him.

"_Slytherin!_" called out the Sorting Hat and the table of Slytherin students burst into cheers at another student joining their house.

Severus didn't know if his words had made a difference or if the hat would have made the same decision regardless of anything he had said. Grateful whatever the reason he stepped down from the stool and hurried to take his seat at the table.

Lucius, the blond haired prefect from the train clapped him on the back, his earlier scorn towards the younger boy clearly forgotten.

Severus turned towards the teachers' table where Dumbledore was seated in the centre. He thought he caught him give a sad shake of his head in his direction but could not be sure. But even so he could not dismiss the suspicion he had that the Hogwart's Headmaster was disappointed that he had been sorted into Slytherin.


	3. The Bucking Broom

**Part 3 - The Bucking Broom**

Severus woke up on the morning of his first full day at Hogwarts and looked around the dungeon dormitory. The other first year boys were still asleep; it was still early.

Getting out of bed Severus tiptoed out of the room and headed for the common room.

He just about to go around the corner into the room when the sound of raised voices brought him to a halt.

"It wasn't my fault," the female voice cried. Severus thought she sounded vaguely familiar but he could not think who she was. It was more the accent than the voice itself that he recognised.

"I don't care!" hissed a male voice, one that Severus instantly recognised as being that of Lucius Malfoy. "Go and sort it out. By tonight."

The sound of footsteps retreating echoed around the dungeon. Severus held his breath and waited out of sight. He did not know what to do for the best, return to the dormitory or go into the common room as he had planned and pretend he had not heard anything. Wracked with indecision, the choice was taken from him when Lucius rounded the corner himself.

This was a Lucius Malfoy that Severus had not seen before. He was colder even than he'd been on the train and there was a dangerous look to his face. A look that Severus' father had sometimes had just before he lost control of his temper.

Unconsciously Severus stepped back up a stair which he belatedly realised brought him to eye level with Lucius. He didn't speak. What could he say anyway?

"Do you know what that was about?" asked Lucius.

Severus answered with a shake of his head.

"Best you don't," replied Lucius, and Severus was pleased to see that the harshness had melted away slightly at his response.

Lucius moved past him and up the stairs leaving Severus to continue down into the now empty common room.

Severus sat on the leather sofa before the large cavernous fireplace. He wondered what it was he had almost walked in on.

It was only when he heard the sounds of the other students moving around that he made a move to get ready for his first class, flying, which was taught jointly with the Gryffindor students. He was eager to see Lily again, though unable to admit to himself that he wanted her assurance that their friendship could survive their being separated into separate houses.

* * *

Severus looked at the school broom with anticipation. He had never actually ridden on a broom before; living in a densely populated muggle area had made it impossible. He was quite looking forward to the experience and viewed it as a kind of freedom. He looked in the distance to where the Quidditch hoops stood high above the ground and wondered if he would make the house team before leaving school if he practised enough. With only seven players on the team he knew he would have to be really good to make it.

He had just left his broom to go talk to Lily, when Madam Hooch arrived slightly late and out of breath as she hurried towards the crowd of first years.

"Everyone stand by your brooms," she called out loudly.

Severus frowned as his attempt to speak to his friend was thwarted but returned to stand by his broom. He looked down at it frowning. Was this a different broom to the one that had been next to him a minute before? He couldn't be sure but he thought that the handle was slightly less straight and the slightly darker markings had not been there a moment ago.

"What are you waiting for Mr Snape?" Madam Hooch shouted at Severus who had completely failed to hear the last of her instructions. He looked around the other students in embarrassment and saw that they were all calling 'up' to their brooms. He joined them and ordered his broom to rise to his hand; it took several tries before it lifted from the ground.

Once all of the class were successful in raising their brooms the class continued and Severus turned to climb aboard his broom and try to rise a little off of the ground.

Unfortunately the second he tried to mount the broom the contrary piece of wood began to buck uncontrollably.

"Hurry up class," called Madam Hooch. "Don't take all day about it."

Severus tried again to get his broom to steady enough for him to climb on. He heard the girl next to him laughing as he struggled to gain control.

Finally he managed to swing himself up onto the broom which steadied itself for a few seconds. For a moment he felt the exhilaration of rising above the ground and believed that despite the shaky start he had found something that he was good at. The feeling of elation lasted only until he dipped forward to descend back to the floor.

The broom suddenly bucked even more violently than before, nearly throwing him to the ground. Severus felt his stomach lurch and gripped the broom so tightly his knuckles turned even whiter than they already were.

He tried to bring the broom until control but the more he tried to bring it to the ground the higher it seemed to rise and the more fiercely it tried to buck him off.

He tried to block out the laughter of the other students but he could feel their stares on him as he struggled to get his wayward broom back onto the ground.

He tried to see where Madam Hooch was. Surely she had spotted that he had a problem? Sure enough the calm teacher was hovering to his right on her own broom and was reaching towards him.

"Give me your hand," she instructed. But no matter how hard he tried he could not bring himself to release his grip on the handle.

He tried again to force the broom to the ground but again the bucking escalated, this time so violently his teeth started to rattle. He clenched his jaw shut and held on for dear life.

Then suddenly the broom gave a final violent jerk which caused his hands, now damp with sweat, to lose their hold on the broom handle and he fell to the ground in an awkward heap. The sound of two cracks drowned out the laughter of the other students. The first was the broom handle snapping in half, the second was Severus's ankle breaking.

Madam Hooch hurried over to him where he sat on the ground, pale and shaken. His ankle was hurting terribly and as she helped him up and he tried to put weight on it he felt tears of pain start to stream down his face.

"I can't believe you held on all that time," she praised him. "Determination like that is what gets people on the house teams." He felt slightly better at that and hoped that his next flying lesson would not be so eventful.

As she helped him to walk to the hospital wing he took a final glance behind him where he could see James Potter smirking and looking far too pleased with himself. Sirius too had a look to his face like the cat that had got the canary. As for Peter, he was practically in stitches as he sat on the floor laughing.

He couldn't prove it but he would bet anything that James Potter and Sirius Black had done something to one of the school brooms and switched it with the one he had picked up when his back had been turned.

If that was the way they wanted to play then so be it. They would regret putting a jinx on his broom, he would make sure of it.


	4. Snivellus

**Part 4 – **_**Snivellus**_

Severus sat on one of the beds in the hospital wing waiting for Madam Pomfrey to come to attend to his increasingly painful ankle. Madam Hooch had left him in the hospital wing and returned to the rest of the class outside.

The hospital wing was a real hive of activity and Severus found that he was at the end of a long list of students to be tended to.

There were eight third year students with varying degrees of multi-coloured blotches over their faces. That alone was not too serious but they were all scratching at the blotches like crazy and were scraping Madam Pomfrey's magical lotion off of their skins within moments of it being applied. Apparently they were there as a result of a mistaken ingredient added to their potions in their first class of the year.

There was also a fourth year boy with a sprained wrist patiently awaiting his turn for assistance. Severus listened to Professor McGonagall who had brought him to the wing berate him for disregarding the rule that boys could not go into the girls' rooms in Gryffindor tower. The boy did not appear to be listening to her and she gave a sigh of frustration before returning to her own duties.

It was early afternoon before all the third years were cured of their itching and sent on their way. The boy with the sprained wrist was dealt with quickly and sent back to class and finally Severus had the full attention of Madam Pomfrey.

"I see what the problem is. Hmm, not feeding you much at home are they dear?"

"Huh?" Severus was confused for a moment before he realised that Madam Pomfrey had completely forgotten the reason he was there.

"Not enough sunshine either. Soon have you nice and tanned," she continued "Not sure what you're here for though. Much better for you if you'd been downstairs getting lunch with your classmates."

"My ankle," said Severus pointing to the swollen joint which was still at the strange angle.

"Oh," exclaimed Madam Pomfrey as she recalled Madam Hooch's rapid appraisal of the problem several hours before. "You came off your broom, right?"

"It threw me," muttered Severus, not liking too much that she made him sound rather clumsy instead of unjustly jinxed.

"Threw you, did it?" Madam Pomfrey repeated in a vague kind of manner as she rummaged around the cupboards for her supplies.

Severus didn't bother to reply. He kept quiet as Madam Pomfrey fixed his ankle as good as new and sent him on his way. He muttered a quick thank you before heading to the Slytherin common room. He had completely missed his first History of Magic class and it was too late for him to go to Herbology. By the time he would have reached the greenhouses the class would be over. Instead he decided to go to the common room and see if there was anything there for him to eat. He vaguely recalled a bowl of fruit on the main table and wondered if there was anything left in it that would keep him going until dinner.

"Password please," asked the portrait of the wizard who looked thoroughly bad-tempered and was guarding the Slytherin common room door.

"Dragon's Blood," answered Severus and the stone door revealed itself and opened for him.

He saw Lucius Malfoy as soon as the door began to open. His back was to the door and Severus could not see the full force of the glare he directed at the tall, dark-haired, young girl who looked back at him with an expression of annoyance.

"But I have divination and transfiguration homework already," the girl complained, "I don't have time to go to the library to look for a book on Charms for you too."

"Well neither do I," answered Lucius, "I have prefect duties after all."

"I…" the girl stopped abruptly as she caught sight of Severus in the doorway. It was at that moment that Severus realised that she was the same girl who Lucius had been ordering about that morning. One look at her dark hair and he realised that she was surely related to Sirius Black, the resemblance was too close to be a coincidence.

Lucius turned around to look in the direction of her gaze. A small smile spread over his face as he looked at Severus. 

"Don't worry about it Bella," he said as he continued to look at Severus who stood rooted to the spot, all thoughts of food gone from his mind. He did not like the look that Lucius was giving him and wondered if he would spend his whole year continually walking in on Lucius's conversations.

Bella's look of relief was clear, although Severus had the distinct impression she would have continued to stand up to Lucius for as long as it took. She had a look about her that made him believe she would do as she wanted and not let anyone push her about.

Bella turned away and sat down with her books to make a start on her homework as Lucius beckoned Severus over.

"Hear you fell off your broom this morning," he commented in a light-hearted manner.

"It was jinxed," replied Severus, wondering how many more times he would have to explain this. And how many more times he would see the look of scepticism that he was seeing now on the face of Lucius Malfoy.

"Never mind," Lucius brushed off the incident. "It really doesn't matter. What does matter is that you missed all your classes today."

"So?" asked Severus. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"So, you don't have any homework to do yet either."

"Someone will tell me what I've missed." Severus did not imagine that he could get away with missing the first History of Magic and Herbology classes of the year without someone being told to fill him in and tell him what the homework was.

"But they're still in class so you don't know just yet," said Lucius slyly.

"No."

"So you can just stop by the library for me and find me the Charms book that I need." Lucius sounded very pleased with himself and his reasoning. Severus knew he had been backed into a corner.

The library was floors away from the common room and by the time Severus had found his way there, got the book and returned it would be too late for him to start on his own homework. Homework he could not start yet since he did not actually have it. Lucius had it all worked out.

"Okay," he reluctantly agreed and Lucius handed him a note with the name of the book that he needed.

"I won't forget this Severus," Lucius called out as Severus stepped out into the corridor.

Severus hoped that he wouldn't. He desperately wanted to make friends with the other Slytherin students. He could easily imagine how difficult his life would be if he didn't. He wondered if maybe this was the first step to being part of Lucius Malfoy's group of friends. Though a small part of him recoiled at the thought of being near those who had mocked him on the train he pushed his worries aside and dismissed their actions as high spirits on the journey. He knew that things would work out fine.

It took him longer than he had thought it would to find the library and even longer to find the book that Lucius wanted. By the time that he was ready to return to the common room the first year classes had finished and some of them were starting to filter into the library looking for their own books.

History of Magic was a class taken jointly with Ravenclaw and one of the students who recognised him from the banquet was helpful in passing him a copy of some detailed and complicated notes from the lesson. Apparently Professor Binns had only given them a reading assignment for homework so Severus would easily catch up.

Unfortunately he couldn't see either Lily or any of the Slytherin first year students to ask what he had missed in Herbology.

He did however see one of the other Gryffindors…Remus Lupin…who approached him immediately he spotted him.

"Are you alright?" asked Remus who looked rather pale and ill himself.

"Obviously," Severus hissed. He had not forgotten that the boy now facing him had been standing with James and Sirius as they had laughed at him before the Sorting. He had no doubt that they were all in on the dangerous joke at his expense.

Almost as if he had read his mind Remus looked over his shoulder as if to see if anyone was listening and whispered "I didn't have anything to do with the broom."

"Of course not," Severus sarcastically replied.

"Hey Remus!" Sirius Black called out as he and James entered the library, Peter Pettigrew following close behind. The librarian shushed them and continued searching through her records for books the students had written in to request.

"Hey," Remus called back cheerfully. "Just checking Severus was okay after that nasty _accident_ this morning."

"Severus?" laughed James. "Didn't we tell you we'd already re-named him _Snivellus_?" 

Severus blanched pure white at the way his name had been mangled by the laughing Gryffindor. He'd almost convinced himself that he'd misheard the boy on the train. Now he knew that what he'd thought he'd heard had been correct.

"Yeah," agreed Peter "collapsing in tears after falling off his broom. _Snivellus_ suits him better."

James and Sirius continued to snicker as Peter held his sides and collapsed into more giggles which drew the librarian's attention back to them again.

Severus noticed that Remus did not laugh out loud but he also noticed that there was a small smile playing about his mouth and he suspected that he was biting his lip to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter himself.

Even though he knew it would not help him, and would certainly make things worse, Severus felt his eyes begin to well up again. Ducking his head he practically ran from the library and back to the sanctuary of the Slytherin common room.


	5. Slytherin Party Night

**Part 5 – Slytherin Party Night**

The next couple of weeks passed by without incident and Severus began to settle down to life at Hogwarts. He had survived his detention with James without any trouble and no more had been said about the duel. Not that he thought he would lose, he just didn't want to get into any more trouble. The last thing he wanted was to be expelled and duelling between the students was one of the most strictly kept rules.

He'd managed to find time to speak to Lily who seemed to be settling into life at Hogwarts with an ease he found himself envious of. Long gone were the days when he'd had her undivided attention; the young girl had soon made friends with many of the other students, not only in her own house but also in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well. He tried not to feel jealous at having to share her with her new friends, consoling himself with the facts that he'd known her first and in the holidays he would have her to himself once more.

Still he tried to find time to speak with her each day, determined not to let their friendship drift.

Unlike Lily, Severus didn't find it as easy to make friends with the other students. Lucius greeted him in a friendly enough manner whenever their paths crossed and every few days he came to him with an errand for him to run. Severus was not particularly pleased to drag himself away from his own studies to run about for Lucius but he did it without complaint in the hope that he would soon be included in some of Lucius's other activities. He knew that the older Slytherins occasionally threw late night parties in the common room, there was still talk about the last big party of the previous year. He hoped that he would be invited to the next one.

He mostly hung around with Martin Avery, a first year Slytherin like himself and the boy he frequently found himself working with in classes.

As for his schoolwork, Severus found most of the subjects enjoyable and relatively easy. His favourite class by far was Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was miles ahead in that subject and was eager to get good marks on each assignment they were set. He spent twice as much time on that class's homework than any of the others.

He had found though that his flying classes were not as enjoyable as he had hoped. After the jinxed broom incident he had found that his confidence had taken quite a battering. In his second class he found himself less sure of his abilities. When he was anywhere near James, Sirius and their friends he found himself constantly looking over his shoulder at them and not at wherever he was supposed to be going. And the easy grace he had started with in his first flying lesson had vanished completely, his movements were now jerky and shaky and each time he had to land his stomach lurched as he recalled the motion of the broom as it had tried to buck him off.

Worst of all though, James and his friends could tell that their prank had affected him and took delight in goading him.

Not a day went past when he did not hear the name _Snivellus_ spoken by one or another of them.

When he entered the Great Hall at meal times he would hear the name called out at him whenever he looked over at the Gryffindor table. Unfortunately this meant it was called out every single time he entered the Great Hall as he found himself automatically searching that table for Lily whenever he entered the room.

He would hear the hateful name whispered in the library and in classes. He tried not to draw attention to himself in class and had stopped raising his hand to answer questions when there were Gryffindors in the lesson and instead tried to make himself as invisible as possible in the hope that the name would soon be forgotten.

But his hopes were in vain and it seemed that everywhere he went James Potter and his group were there, calling out _Snivellus_ and laughing.

The Slytherin quarters was one of the few places where he was safe from the snickering and so more and more he found that he was spending his time in the corner of the common room he was starting to think of as his.

Even though it was an unusually warm September it was there that Severus sat one Saturday afternoon re-reading his Charms homework whilst most of the rest of his year were out by the lake enjoying the weather.

Severus had read the start of his homework twice without taking in a word. His attention was instead on the quiet tones of Lucius Malfoy who was lounged in an armchair in front of the unlit fireplace.

"Tonight it is then," he announced with a tone of extreme satisfaction. "We clear out all the first and second years and have Evan's birthday party here."

Severus looked over to where the third year student Evan Rosier beamed in delight.

"No sense in going out of Slytherin quarters and getting caught out of bounds," continued Lucius.

"But how are you going to get all the young kids out of here?" asked Bella.

"Leave that to me," said Lucius with a smirk. "Though I may need a little assistance from you."

He lowered his voice so that Severus could not hear him and Bella smiled.

"There are advantages to being a prefect," Lucius laughed.

Some of the group laughed along with him, although Severus saw that a few of them only smiled tightly. He knew that Lucius used his status as a prefect to boss them about and it was clear that not everyone was entirely happy about it.

The group broke up and each turned back to their own assignments and projects as the day wore on.

* * *

Severus was back in his seat in the common room after dinner still wondering what Lucius was planning to do. He didn't have to wait long; it was not quite dark when the older boy suddenly stood up and called out to the now noisy and crowded common room. 

"Could we have some quiet around here? Some of us are trying to study."

A hush descended over the room and for about ten minutes it was noticeably quieter, everyone speaking in whispers when they dared to at all.

Severus tried to concentrate on his Herbology report but without success. Looking towards Lucius he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye Bella wave her wand towards a table of first years in the far corner of the room. He was not sure exactly what it was that she muttered but the effect was instantaneous and the stack of books in the centre of the table suddenly flew to the floor with a crash that echoed off the stone walls of the dungeon.

"That's enough!" shouted Lucius. "All first and second years clear out to the dorms. Go and do your homework up there."

The younger students looked at him. Only one, a second year student, dared to protest.

"But this is our common room too," he argued.

"As prefect it is one of my duties to ensure that those of us who wish to study can do so in peace. So go on, clear out." Lucius stood up and watched as all the first and second years gathered their books and parchments and headed towards the stairs.

Severus too gathered together his own belongings and made to leave the common room. He was the last one to arrive at the staircase and was about to head upstairs when he was called back.

"Hey Severus, wait a minute," called Lucius. Severus felt his heart begin to race. Was he finally being accepted into the group? Turning around he looked back to Lucius.

"Yes?" he asked, unable to keep the eager note from his voice.

"I need you to do me…us…a favour. Can you head down to the kitchens and fetch us some food?" It was not so much a question as an order.

"Sure," answered Severus, his heart sinking once more.

Ducking his head he stepped out of the common room and started the long walk to the kitchens. Luckily he knew the way, Lucius having sent him there several times over the last two weeks when they were running out of snacks.

The corridors were quiet and no one appeared to be around the entrance to the kitchens. Tickling the pear that allowed him access he was quickly loaded down with delicious looking cakes and goodies by the eager to please house elves.

Backing out of the door he cautiously looked about for anyone who might spot him. It seemed deserted. He had barely moved more than a few feet when he heard the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice coming down the staircase above him.

"I know this isn't easy Remus, but you'll soon get used to it."

_Remus?_

Severus stepped behind a statue out of sight as he watched Remus Lupin following after Professor McGonagall. What had he done? Had he been expelled? McGonagall's words did not seem to suggest it but why was he not in Gryffindor Tower? He looked rather ill but the hospital wing was in the other direction. What was going on?

Severus waited quietly for them to pass him by and strained to hear what they were saying but it was no use. They passed in silence and Severus was left alone to return to the common room and wonder at what he had seen.

Hurrying back through the door he saw that the party was getting underway. Someone had switched on the wizard wireless and a lively dance beat was pounding through the room. He was sure the noise would be heard by the first and second years and they would not only know that the elder students were not studying, but they would not be able to study themselves because of the racket.

Severus inched his way across the room to the long wooden table and started to spread out the various treats that he had collected. He took as long over placing them on the table as he dared in the hope that Lucius would ask him to stay. But Lucius was engaged in talking to Bella and Narcissa, one of Bellatrix's younger sisters, at the far side of the room, and try as he might Severus could not seem to draw Lucius's attention away from the pretty sisters.

Looking at the two girls Severus could hardly believe that they were related to each other. Bellatrix had her cousin Sirius's dark looks while by contrast Narcissa was a natural blonde. Both sisters were tall in stature and had the same slim build. He'd never really had the opportunity to speak with Narcissa who generally had a haughty look about her. Of all the Black sisters the only one that Severus had found even remotely approachable was Andromeda. The middle sister was also in Slytherin and bore a strong resemblance to Bellatrix in looks, but not in nature. She was one of the few Slytherin students who stepped in when the bossing around of the younger students was going too far.

Severus looked around the room but could not see Andromeda anywhere in sight.

Severus hovered around the table as long as he dared to and then made to move between the dancing students as he inched his way towards the staircase.

He had just reached the first step when he heard his name being called.

"Severus," the female voice came from across the room and when he turned around he saw Bella waving him over to her. Turning around with a small smile he walked back across the room. This time he did not get his hopes up. Maybe they were wanting him to get some drinks to go with the food.

"Thanks for getting the cakes," said Bella as Evan offered her a plate piled high with sticky buns. When she had taken one Evan offered the plate to Lucius who declined and Narcissa who looked longingly at them before finally reaching for the smallest on the plate. Severus stood feeling like an intruder and was surprised when Evan offered the plate to him.

"Go on then, take one," said Evan, pushing the plate forward, "you went to get them, you deserve to have one."

"I should be getting upstairs," said Severus quietly with a quick glance at Lucius. He firmly believed that unless Lucius said he was allowed to stay that he should leave the party. It was only when Lucius shrugged and nodded to the plate that Severus grabbed one of the cakes and settled himself down to enjoy the party with the others.

He spent most of the evening chatting with Evan and Bella and although he tried to sound intelligent and mature he had the suspicion that they were not impressed with him. He caught more than one smile exchanged between them when he had said something inappropriate. After a while he began to wish that he had been excluded from the party like the rest of the first years.

Eventually he excused himself and headed for the dormitory. As he approached he heard the sound of laughter from inside and when he pushed open the door he could see his fellow first years sitting on one of the beds. The laughter stopped instantly at his appearance and everyone headed back to their own beds in silence. Their joyful mood had been effectively killed by his appearance in the room.

Scowling he headed to his own bed and threw himself down onto the covers. It seemed like the other first years were not impressed that he had been to the party they had been excluded from, and not only that, they were now excluding him from their own private jokes.

He sniffed a little as he lay there in the light of the nearly full moon as it shone in through the window.

The last thing he heard from the others in the room was a snicker of laughter and a whisper that sounded suspiciously like _Snivellus_.


	6. Severus takes his Revenge

**Part 6 – Severus takes his Revenge**

For the next few days Severus kept to himself and buried himself in his schoolwork. Gradually the other first year Slytherins began to speak with him again although they were not overly friendly when any of the older students were in the vicinity.

James Potter continued to call out _Snivellus_ every time he saw him until Severus was so sick of hearing it he was tempted to tell one of the Professors.

He was still debating whether to tell someone on Wednesday morning when, in the middle of his Transfiguration class, he was struck by inspiration. It was perhaps not the best time to have a brilliant idea and Professor McGonagall deducted five house points from him for his lack of concentration, but Severus did not mind too much for he knew that he had found the perfect way to revenge himself on James Potter.

As soon as the class was over Severus rushed to the common room, grabbed his Potions text book from where he had left it that morning, and then ran to the library to check if he was right.

Severus had found that he had a talent for potion making and could not see why some of the other students, like Peter Pettigrew, struggled to follow the simple instructions they were given. The homework which had been set for them was to read up on the potion they were to make next lesson, the Bass Potion, that would give them low, deep voices after they drank it. It was one of the few potions that they would be testing on themselves this term.

All the time that Severus had been reading the homework he had had a sense that the ingredients were familiar to him. He just needed to check if he was right.

He quickly found his way to the Potions section of the library and found the book that he was looking for… "Corrosive Potions and Their Everyday Uses"

He flicked through the pages of the familiar book, searching for the potion he'd watched his mother brewing at home on a monthly basis for as long as he could remember. He found it relatively quickly and gave a small, devious smile when he saw that he had been right. There was just one ingredient that needed to be added to the Bass Potion to produce the effect that he wanted, and that ingredient could be found right here on the Hogwart's grounds.

For the first time since the morning of his first flying lesson Severus found himself completely looking forward to a class that he shared with James Potter.

* * *

Severus was the first person through the door to the Potions Lab the next morning and he aimed for the table directly in front of the one James worked at each week. Sure enough a few seconds later James sauntered in and sat down at his preferred desk. He immediately caught Severus looking at him.

"What you looking at _Snivellus_?" he sneered, as Peter sat down beside him and went off into a fit of giggles.

"It wasn't that funny," Severus muttered as he turned back to the front of the class.

"Just ignore him," Lily whispered as she passed him on the way to her own desk across the far side of the room. He smiled back at her and spared a brief thought for what she would think about his plan. She wouldn't approve; he knew she wouldn't. His hand slipped into the pocket of his robes where the extra ingredient he'd acquired rested.

The sound of the continued snickering behind him was the final motivation he needed. Pushing thoughts of what Lily would say from his mind he resolved to make James pay for his stunt with the broomstick.

The class was soon underway and Severus concentrated on getting his own potion ready as quickly as possible. His lab partner Martin had quickly realised that Severus had a talent for making potions and left him to get on with it. Once the brew was slowly simmering Severus turned around to see where James and Peter had got to with their own mixture.

James sighed as Peter dropped a bunch of leaves onto the floor. The group took turns each week to work with Peter who did not seem to have a knack for any of their classes. This week it was James who struggled to stop Peter from messing things up for both of them.

Bending down James and Peter picked up the leaves, Peter apologising repeatedly for his clumsiness.

Severus looked around the rest of the room. No one was looking in his direction.

Sirius and Remus were talking about where he had disappeared to on Saturday evening, some family problem apparently. Though Severus did wonder at whether it was true or not as it did not tie in with Professor McGonagall's words as they had passed him. He just knew that there was something going on and he was determined to figure it out. But that could wait for another time.

He looked for Professor Slughorn and saw that he was at the far end of the room checking on someone else. He knew that it was now or never.

Sprinkling the seeds he had collected that morning into James and Peter's cauldron he watched them sink out of sight before turning back to his own desk. Martin had spotted him and Severus felt his face redden. But Martin just shrugged and turned back to where he was carving his name into the edge of the desk with a knife.

The time seemed to crawl past until eventually the class were ready to test their potions.

Severus took a quick drink of his own and when he opened his mouth to speak his voice came out deeper than anyone's in the room. Martin also found that he was getting full marks for the assignment as his voice deepened too.

But Severus did not care about his own potion so much as that of James Potter.

The sound of a strangled scream came from behind him and he turned with everyone else in the room to see what had happened.

James and Peter stood with their hands clasped over their mouths. Peter was gagging slightly and Severus tried to stop himself from laughing out loud.

Professor Slughorn rushed over to see what the commotion was.

"Let me through," he ordered and the students stepped back to let him pass.

"Aaahm..mm.aahh...mmmumm," mumbled James.

"Spit it out lad, spit it out," said the Professor. James took him literally and spat into the cauldron a mouthful of bile and saliva.

"Let's see now," Professor Slughorn grabbed James's face and forcibly opened his mouth.

From his seat Severus had the perfect view of James's mouth and gums. The potion had worked just like he knew it would. There was not a single tooth left in James's mouth. No doubt Peter's was the same. The corrosion of his teeth had been almost instant.

"I think you might have failed this lesson today Mr Potter." Professor Slughorn was calm as he told them at their teeth could be easily restored with the dental version of Skele-Grow. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

James shook his head whilst Peter continued to spit into the cauldron.

"Well I guess you had both better go to Madam Pomfrey and grow your teeth back."

James and Peter grabbed their books and practically ran from the room.

"Nice one," said Martin, giving Severus a friendly nudge with his elbow. Severus grinned at him.

He would not have been grinning had he noticed that Sirius Black had heard Martin's comment and was giving him a dangerously calculating look from across the room.

Severus Snape had just upped the stakes in the private war he was waging against James Potter and his gang…and he didn't even realise it.


	7. Severus v James Part 1

**Part 7 – Severus v James (Part 1)**

In the days following Severus's success in rotting the teeth of James and Peter he found that he was seen by the Slytherin students as a minor celebrity.

The first year Slytherins looked at him in awe after Martin Avery had spread the word around about what he had done.

He entered the Slytherin common room that first evening and saw looks of amazed delight on most of the faces before him. A few of the students looked at him with a bit of fear but he did not notice these amongst the laughing faces of Slytherins delighting in the triumph of one of their own house causing such humiliation to a Gryffindor student.

By the next day word had spread amongst the older students and Bella and Evan had clapped him on the back as he took his seat at the long table in the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast.

But for Severus the best reaction of all was that of Lucius who nodded his approval over breakfast and then asked for the exact details of what it was that Severus had done.

"Quite a simple little potion really," he commented idly. "Surprising that no one had thought of it before."

"Simple, but effective," laughed Bella.

Severus laughed with her before risking a glance over to the Gryffindor table. There was no sign of Lily, the one person whose reaction to his trick he was hesitant to see.

Sirius however was sitting at the table with Remus; James and Peter were still absent.

Almost as if he felt him watching him Sirius looked up at Severus and met his gaze. Hatred flickered across his face and he brought his hand up and ran his finger across his throat in a cutting motion.

Severus blanched and swallowed with difficulty the last of his toast.

Sirius did not miss his reaction and gave him a nasty grin before turning back to Remus.

* * *

James and Peter did not come back to their classes for the rest of the week and by the weekend Severus was starting to wonder if he had done some serious damage to one or both of them.

He almost confided his concerns in Lily but couldn't quite bring himself to voice them. When they'd finally spoken about his prank Lily's reaction had been much as he'd expected. She was not impressed and although she admitted to laughing along with the rest of the class at the time at the stunned expressions of James and Peter, she was clearly not prepared to encourage him in his feud with the boys from her own house.

On Saturday morning he did voice his suspicions to Bella after she had asked him a question twice and he had failed to respond.

"Who cares if they are okay?" she laughed. "Don't worry about them. Did they show any concern for you when they jinxed your broom?"

"No."

"And that could have killed you if you fell from too high."

"You're right," said Severus. "It's just…" he could not put his thoughts into words.

What if the potion had done more than rot their teeth? What if he had really poisoned them? What if they were dead? What if even now Dumbledore was trying to track down their murderer?

It was too dreadful to think about.

"Besides," continued Bella "Madam Pomfrey can fix practically anything."

"Practically?" he asked.

"Well she can't bring the dead back to life or anything, can she?"

"But she can fix anything else?"

"Sure. Stop worrying. If you want to be a true Slytherin you don't want to have too much of a conscience. Gets in the way of your ambitions."

"Right," agreed Severus, even though he did not have any real ambitions so far in his young life. Though on reflection he decided that his first ambition should be not to be arrested and thrown into Azkaban for the murder of two of his fellow students.

* * *

The next afternoon was a cool September Sunday.

Severus had tried to put James and Peter out of his mind and concentrate on his Herbology report that was due in the next day. But no matter how hard he tried he could not shake the feeling that they were really ill because of what he had done.

He eventually decided that a walk in the grounds might clear his mind of his worries long enough for him to concentrate on finishing his report. Putting down his quill he left the common room and headed outside.

He was crossing the courtyard when he heard them. He stopped instantly and looked about to see where they were. James and Peter appeared to be fully recovered and they were heading in his direction with Sirius and Remus.

He did not know why he stood waiting for them to see him. He knew the instant that they spotted him; their voices became silent and they stood as still as he was for a few moments before James broke free from the trance he seemed to have been in and sprinted towards him.

He came within a few yards of him and pulled his wand out of his robes and thrust it at Severus's face.

Severus stepped back a pace and reached for his own wand.

"You sabotaged my potion you little git!" shouted James.

"You jinxed my broom!" Severus yelled back.

"You don't deny it then?" James spat out in fury.

"No, do you?" replied Severus who was equally seething. Now that he knew that they were okay any trace of remorse for his actions had vanished beneath the tidal wave of hatred that had descended over him when James had run in his direction.

"He can't deny it anyway," said Sirius. "I heard Martin congratulate him in class. And the whole of the Slytherin house knows about it. Right proud of him they are."

"Proud are they?" said James thoughtfully. "Bet they won't be so proud of him when I've done with him."

"What you gonna do?" jeered Severus as he raised his wand higher.

"Come on, calm down now" interrupted Remus as he stepped between the two of them with his arms outstretched in a vain attempt to set them slightly further apart.

"Calm down?" James yelled. "He tried to poison us!"

"Yeah," said Peter, "he could have killed us."

"Rubbish," answered Severus, purposely forgetting his own concerns that he might have done just that.

"Come on now," tried Remus again. "You jinxed his broom, he messed up your potion. Some might say it evens the score."

"Does it heck! He got praised for sticking on that broom. We got failed for that potion. I don't call that even. Do you Peter?"

"No," agreed Peter. "We would have got top marks that lesson if not for _Snivellus_ here."

"Right," said James.

"Whose side are you on?" asked James as he glared at his friend. "You're not taking the side of this greasy little git are you?" He jabbed his wand at Severus as he spoke.

"Of course not," answered Remus with an uneasy glance.

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes," said Remus quietly and he stepped back from James.

"Good," said James in a quieter voice. "Us Gryffindors stick together. Loyalty is just as important to us as to the Hufflepuffs."

"Remus didn't mean anything by stepping in, did you?" said Sirius. "Just not used to all this action after living out in that isolated village of yours, are you?"

"That's right," said Remus. "Besides one of the Professors could come by here any minute. I don't want to see my friends getting into trouble. Just watching your back. That's all."

James was pacified and smiled at Remus, their differences forgotten.

"You're right," he said. "Too many people could see us here."

"Somewhere else then?" suggested Sirius.

"Yeah." James stood and thought for a moment. "How about round the back of Hagrid's next weekend? I heard Dumbledore telling Madam Pomfrey that Hagrid was going to London then to run some errands. He was asking her to stop by twice a day to feed his dog. It should be deserted the rest of the time."

"Perfect," agreed Sirius. "Is that okay with you _Snivellus_?"

Severus glared at him. He would not reply to that name but he did not want to let them know how much he hated it either. He knew that if he did they would only call him it even more often…if that were even possible.

"We'll take that as a yes then." James lowered his wand and put it back into his robes. "A proper duel, without cheating."

Severus remained with his own wand raised and watched the four Gryffindors saunter away. When they were out of sight he lowered his now aching arm.

Turning to go back inside he saw Lucius standing in the doorway. He looked like he had been there for a while. Severus wondered why he had not come to back him up but when he approached him he turned away and went back inside. Severus followed him through the door but when he looked down the corridors he was nowhere in sight.

Severus returned to the common room and his Herbology report. But whilst earlier that day he had been unable to concentrate because of worry about James and Peter's health now he found himself equally distracted by the lack of support from Lucius.

He had thought that he had finally begun to make friends with the other Slytherin students but maybe he had been wrong. If Lucius was typical then they did not show the loyalty of the Gryffindors.

It appeared that he was on his own within the Slytherins after all.

"Well nothing new there," he muttered before turning back to his report with a sigh.


	8. The Bravest Gryffindor

**Part 8 – The Bravest Gryffindor**

The next few days passed by in a blur and all too soon it was Friday and the day before Severus was due to come face to face with James Potter. Sirius had passed him a scribbled note the previous day.

_Saturday 5pm Behind Hagid's Hut_

Underneath one of them had doodled a cruel sketch of Severus laying on the ground with James' foot on his chest.

In a little over twenty four hours they would duel.

In the meantime Severus had one thing to look forward to, his Defence Against the Dark Arts class which was held on Friday afternoons. It was his favourite subject even if he had to take it in the same room as the Gryffindors.

Severus arrived for the class with Martin Avery and waited outside of the door for Professor Knott-Bolt to arrive. Gradually the rest of their classmates arrived starting with the swaggering James Potter and Sirius Black.

"You ready to be humiliated?" called out James as they approached the classroom.

"A-a-are you?" he retorted, his stutter returning with the nerves he felt over the upcoming duel.

James laughed out loud.

"The D-d-d-dark Arts expert sounds a little nervous, wouldn't you say?" cackled Sirius as Peter arrived and joined in the joke.

"You're the ones who should be s-scared." Severus reached into his robe and pulled out his wand.

"You're pathetic," spat James as he pulled out his own wand and waved it menacingly towards Severus.

"We'll s-see who's p-p-pathetic tomorrow, w-won't we?" Severus cursed his tongue. He could not remember the last time he had stuttered this badly. Usually it was only his father who got him in this much of a state. But somehow James Potter had found a way to reduce him to a stammering wreck.

"Maybe I should just finish you off now?" suggested James.

"Yeah, go on," encouraged Peter with a look of great anticipation on his face.

Sirius glanced down the corridors. The Professor was nowhere in sight. He nodded his agreement.

Severus stepped back a pace and looked towards Remus. He thought that Remus looked a bit uncomfortable but this time he did not try to stop James from doing what he wanted.

"What do you think?" asked James. He placed the forefinger of his free hand under his chin and struck a pose of concentration.

Severus continued to point his wand at James but his mind had gone completely blank with rage and no matter how he tried he could not recall any hexes or curses.

"I've got it," announced James after a moment.

"Good," said Sirius. "Hurry it up will you?"

"_Furnunculus_" James shouted and pointed his wand directly at Severus.

But James joy at hexing Severus was short-lived as he gathered his wits about him just in time to duck out of the way and the curse went over his head for a direct hit at Martin Avery.

Martin screamed and his hands flew to his face where boils were erupting at a rapid pace. Within a minute his face was hardly recognisable and his lips were too swollen to speak.

"Lousy aim but what a result," laughed Sirius.

"Even if it missed the greasy little git, at least it hit a Slytherin," roared James.

"What's going on here?" the commanding voice of Professor Knott-Bolt echoed down the corridor and the laughter stopped instantly. The only sound was the muffled cries of Martin as his face continued to break out in boils.

Taking in the situation in an instant he despatched Martin to the hospital wing, gave James a detention, and opened the doors to the classroom.

"First years," he grumbled as he swept into the room. "Can't leave 'em alone for a minute."

The class filed in behind him and took their seats.

"Right, class. Today you are going to be working in pairs and learning how to deflect minor jinxes. If you have all been studying what you have been taught so far this year you should have no problem."

The class shifted excitedly in their seats. So far all they had done in this class was theory. Now at last they would be getting to do some practical.

Severus looked at the empty seat beside him and quickly looked about the room. With Martin in the hospital wing the number of students was odd and it was clear that he was the one without anyone to work with.

Professor Knott-Bolt had also spotted the problem. "Ah yes, Severus. You will have to join one of the other groups for today."

Severus looked about the room. The other Slytherin students were suddenly very engrossed in their books and no one made a move to call him over to them. Instinctively he looked towards Lily who was whispering something to her friend. He wondered whether to simply go over there and join her, he knew she wouldn't send him away. But a small measure of pride kept him in his seat.

"Who wants Mr Snape to join their group?" called out Professor Knott-Bolt.

The class remained silent.

Severus looked towards Wilkes who had looked up from his books. Wilkes looked to where James and Sirius sat smirking at the table behind him; then he gave Severus an apologetic look before turning back to his reading. Severus frowned when he saw the look and realised immediately what it meant. Not one of the Slytherins wanted to draw James's attention to them. They would not let him join their group in case they found themselves joining Martin in the hospital wing.

Too late he recalled that the Slytherins were not known for their bravery, but for saving their own skins.

"Come on now," called out Professor Knott-Bolt, "it's just for today."

Severus looked down at his book and wished that the floor would open up and swallow him. Was no one going to risk the wrath of James Potter?

"Severus can work with us." The familiar voice came from across the room and Severus felt his heart leap in response to it. Unlike the Slytherins Lily hadn't let him down.

"Thank you Miss Evans," said the Professor with a sigh of relief. "There you go Severus." He pointed towards the table at the front of the class where two girls were sat.

Severus gathered his books together and quickly shuffled across the room to the two Gryffindor girls.

"Thanks," he muttered quietly as he sat down.

"Did you think I'd let you down?" Lily asked with a small smile. "Do you know Veronica?"

He shook his head and stuck out his hand. "Severus Snape," he offered. Veronica shook his hand briefly, dropping it as quickly as she could. "Veronica Mott," she replied.

"Just ignore James," Lily advised. "You know he likes to show off."

"So I noticed," Severus gave a grimace. "But he's not so easy to ignore."

He looked back towards James and Sirius where they were laughing about something. When he turned back to the girls he saw that Lily's green eyes had narrowed slightly and she was frowning in the direction he had been looking a moment before.

"You're not really going to duel him are you?" whispered Lily. She cast a cautious glance at the Professor to check he was out of earshot. Severus followed her gaze and shrugged.

"I can't not turn up," he muttered. "They'll think I'm scared."

"Who cares what they think?" Lily retorted. "Just don't go!"

Severus scowled in response. She didn't understand; she wasn't the one who would have to put up with the taunts all year.

"Maybe you could come along and judge?" Severus suggested after a moment. "Check they fight fair?"

"I'm not having anything to do with it." Lily frowned in disapproval. "Duelling is against the school rules. You'll get into trouble."

Severus was saved from replying by Professor Knott-Bolt who was making the rounds of the class and heading in their direction, probably to see why they had failed to start working.

Severus tried to put James and Sirius out of his mind and concentrate on the lesson but he did not miss the frequent frowns that Lily aimed in both his direction and James's. Keeping his head down as much as he could he stole equally frequent glances through his long, dark hair at the only person in the class who had been brave enough to stand up to James Potter on his behalf.

Eventually the class came to an end and Severus gathered up his books to leave before James and Sirius spotted him.

"Severus, wait," Lily caught hold of his arm as he turned away. "Would you like to join our study group?"

"What?" Severus stopped in his tracks. He hadn't even been aware that Lily was part of a study group.

"I meant to ask you before," answered Lily. "But I thought you might be in one with your friends in Slytherin already. But after today…"

Severus frowned as he realised what she was going to say. That he had no real friends in his own house had been made very obvious by the reluctance of any of the Slytherin students to let him work with them.

"The rest of the group won't mind?" Severus asked, slightly unsure of himself but eager to accept her offer.

"Of course not," Lily assured him with a smile. "Right Veronica?"

Veronica didn't look exactly pleased but she nodded mutely.

"Okay," answered Severus after a moment of indecision.

"Great," said Lily with a smile as she gathered her books and she and Veronica strolled past Severus and out of the classroom.

"Class is over Mr Snape." Professor Knott-Bolt stood at the door waiting for Severus to leave so that he could lock up.

Severus had not even noticed the rest of the students had all gone. He startled the Professor with a wide grin as he hurried out of the room and try as he might he could not wipe the smile from his face for the rest of the day.


	9. Severus v James Part 2

**Part 9 – Severus v James (Part 2)**

Severus awoke on Saturday morning to find that the summer was well and truly over. The sky was darkened with heavy clouds and the light rain of the previous day was now a steady downpour.

He hoped, rather than believed, that the duel would be called off due to the increasingly bad weather.

He passed the morning searching through his books of curses and hexes for anything that might be useful. In the afternoon he found a deserted classroom in which to practice them. By half past four Severus felt that he knew enough to put on a good showing and he was ready for whatever it was that James tried. Returning his books to the common room he hurried to Hagrid's where James was waiting.

Severus was soaking wet as he stood in the rain and glared at James who was grinning widely.

"Well what are you waiting for?" hissed Severus.

"Your second, obviously," answered James. "Sirius is mine, who is yours?"

"Second?" he questioned numbly.

"For when you lose," laughed James.

"I don't have one," Severus responded. "I'm not going to lose."

"We'll see about that," said James as he stepped away from the wall of the hut.

"Hey, give him a break," said Sirius. Severus looked at him in amazement_. What was that?_ "He can't have a second when he hasn't any friends" he continued nastily.

James and Sirius laughed with Peter joining in.

Severus noticed that Remus wasn't anywhere around.

"Aren't you waiting for Remus?" he asked.

"No, he has too much homework to do," answered James with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Now quit stalling. We can't fight to the death…"

"Pity," interrupted Sirius.

"…so we'll make it best of three. We'll face each other three times and an impartial judge will decide which of us has won each time."

"Who's the judge?" asked Severus, looking around to see if anyone else was about, or better yet, to see if Lily had changed her mind.

"Peter" answered James as he gestured to the grinning boy.

"He's not impartial!" exclaimed Severus.

"Well Sirius is my second and there isn't anyone else here is there?"

"That's not fair!" shouted Severus.

"Then you should have brought a friend with you so that they could judge with Peter. But that's a bit difficult when you don't have any isn't it?"

Sirius laughed again. "Come on hurry it up, I think there's a storm heading in." The thunder echoed through the grounds almost as if it had heard him.

James walked towards Severus until he was only a pace away from him.

"You ready _Snivellus?"_

"Are you?" he replied.

James bowed and Severus followed, careful not to take his eyes off of his opponent.

Turning they counted the paces away from each other before turning to cast their spells. Severus was the quicker of the two as he shouted "_effervo adveho_" and a swarm of wasps flew from the end of his wand.

It was one of the spells that Severus had not dared practice inside the school and he was relieved that it worked. Unfortunately he did not take into account the currents of wind that caught the wasps and carried them safely away from the grounds.

James meanwhile had chosen a different spell, one that would not be affected by the weather conditions. Although his voice was lost in the increasing winds it did not affect his spell and Severus felt himself fall to the ground as his legs collapsed underneath him.

"Round one to James!" yelled Peter with unmistakable glee.

After a moment James muttered the counter-curse and Severus felt his legs come back to life again. Covered in mud and grass stains, he staggered to his feet on the slippery grass and glared at James.

He could not argue with the decision Peter had made even though he knew that his own spell was at least two grades higher in difficulty than James' relatively simple one.

"Hurry up _Snivellus,_" complained James. Severus cursed under his breath and took his place for the second round.

This time they didn't bow and merely began pacing away from each other. Neither of them wanted to be outside in the storm any longer than necessary.

Severus quickly ran through his mind the best spell to cast at James. He would not make the same mistake this time around. Finally deciding on one he turned and yelled into the storm.

"_Congelovir!"_

James froze in mid flourish, literally. Severus watched in amazement as his spell took effect and James' skin turned a shade of white, tinged with blue. His messy hair, which had begun to hang limply in the driving rain, turned frosty white and icicles began to form from every part of his body. The features of his face were frozen in a smug smile of anticipation.

The only parts of James that were not completely frozen were his eyes that continued to move about in their sockets. The glare of his eyes contrasted oddly with the arrogant expression of his face.

The spell did not last too long and the effect of the rain on the frozen James soon thawed him out.

"My round I think," said Severus with a glare of his own towards Peter, who remained silent as if unsure who to award the round to.

"You're forgetting I haven't had my shot yet," said James.

"In a real duel you'd have been too slow," retorted Severus. "My round" he repeated.

"Might as well give him this one James," called Sirius from where he was sheltering against the hut. "It's the only one he'll get. Might as well let him have a moment of glory before you teach him what a real duel is all about."

James mumbled something incoherent but appeared to reluctantly agree.

"One round all," Peter announced.

"You ready Potter?" sneered Severus.

"Are you _Snivellus_?" James retorted.

For the third and final time they counted out the paces before turning to face each other for the deciding round.

"_Armo-obfirmo,_" called out Severus at the exact same moment that James yelled out "_tendo-saeta suffoco_."

Severus only saw the effect of his arm-locking spell for a moment. James stood with his arms outstretched in a strange pose that he could not get out of. One arm was aloft and pointing his wand directly at Severus; the other was stretched out to the left. Both were completely immobile. Had Severus called out a second earlier James would have been prevented from finishing the flourishing movement that completed his own spell.

But, unfortunately for Severus, James had completed his spell and Severus's vision was obscured by his hair which was growing at a rapid pace and within seconds was down to his waist. He tried to push it back from his face but the more he tried, the more entangled around his throat it became, and he began to choke slightly as he struggled to free himself from his increasingly long hair.

Eventually he managed to pull his wand arm free and shouted out a cutting spell which quickly trimmed his hair back to something closer to its normal length.

Dropping the long lengths of hair to the floor he looked towards his opponent. He was just in time to see Sirius effecting the counter-curse and freeing James' arms from their position.

"My round again," called Severus.

"How do you get that?" asked James. "What do you think Peter?"

"Round to James," he answered without hesitation.

"Why?" argued Severus.

"Er…" Peter seemed unsure as to his answer but Sirius quickly stepped in. "James' spell has a lasting effect. Your hair is still a mess. Not that it wasn't a horrible greasy state to begin with, but now you'll have to get it fixed properly."

Severus's hand went up to his head and he knew that his hair was now so many lengths he would have to get it professionally fixed. But that was not the point. "I should have won that round. James would still be stuck if not for you undoing the spell for him."

"A good second is always ready to step in," laughed James. "My round."

James turned to walk back up to the school with Sirius and Peter. Severus watched them go, shaking with rage at the unfair decision.

Lifting his wand he took aim and started to shout out the tripping jinx he had used on the first day. But this time James was ready for him.

Spinning round he shouted "_Impedimenta_" before turning back to the school.

Severus's wand flew out of his hand and he fell backwards onto the ground where the rain continued to pour down on him. He strained to break the curse, all the while watching James and the others walk out of sight. Struggling against the curse he was completely soaked in rain, mud and tears by the time he managed to free himself and return to the school.


	10. Repercussions

**Part 10 – Repercussions **

Severus mumbled the password that let him into the Slytherin common room. Stepping through the door he saw, to his horror, that the room was full of students. He had lost track of the time and was dismayed to find that everyone was not in the Great Hall eating dinner.

He quickly shuffled across the room with his head ducked down. _Please_ don't let anyone notice me he silently pleaded as he hurried towards the staircase.

But whilst Severus had been invisible to the students when he wanted them to notice him, now he found that the opposite was true.

"Severus! What happened?" Bella stood on the staircase blocking his escape.

"Nothing," he muttered as he tried to sidle past her.

"But look at the state of you." Bella moved to block his path again.

Severus stood silently looking down at the floor. He couldn't look Bella in the eye for fear that the tears that had so recently stopped would flow again, this time without the rain to hide them.

"Well?" Bella pressed on.

Severus remained silent as he heedlessly continued to drip muddy rainwater on the grey stone floor.

"I'll go get Lucius," she decided. "Wait here."

Severus didn't wait more than a second. As soon as his path was clear he ran up to the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

Five minutes later he heard Lucius bang on the door. He didn't bother to reply and it wasn't long before Lucius decided that dinner was more important than a stubborn first year student and he left Severus alone.

Severus missed dinner that night. He could not face the smirking face of James Potter or the snide comments of Sirius Black. After cleaning himself up he went straight to bed and pretended to sleep when he heard his fellow students come into the dormitory a few hours later.

* * *

The next morning Severus woke up feeling distinctly unwell. His head ached and when he tried to stand a wave of dizziness came over him. Sitting back on his bed he clutched at the headboard. The dizziness seemed to have passed. But when he tried to stand he felt the nausea return. Sitting back down he rested his head against the cool headboard.

"You okay Severus?" called Martin as he passed him on the way to the showers.

"Yeah," Severus mumbled. He watched Martin continue on his way but still hadn't moved from his bed when the other boy returned a short while later.

"Aren't you coming down to breakfast?" asked Martin.

"Later," answered Severus. Thankfully it was Sunday. He only had a History of Magic essay to write for Monday and that could wait until later. Laying back on his bed he shut his eyes and listened to the sounds of the others as they began to stir and starting moving about the room. His head was pounding and he felt too ill to move.

He didn't know when he fell asleep or how long he had slept for. The next thing he was aware of was someone carrying him somewhere.

Voices seemed to alternately come from far away or echo in his head.

"The bed at the end Hagrid please." That sounded like Madam Pomfrey. He realised in a distant sort of way that he was in the hospital wing again.

"Right yer are" Hagrid's deep tones echoed in Severus's mind_. When did he get back? Was it Sunday evening already?_ He tried to give voice to his thoughts but couldn't.

"How long has he been like this?"

"Don't know. Young Avery said he was acting funny-like this morning but he was talking and sitting up."

"Did he eat any breakfast?"

"No." Severus recognised the voice of Professor Slughorn, the head of Slytherin. It seemed to come from far away.

Severus felt a cool hand placed on his forehead. "He's running a high fever." Madam Pomfrey sounded confused and concerned.

"He came inside yesterday evening soaking wet." Bella's voice seemed to drift towards him from the doorway.

"What?" Professor Slughorn questioned.

"Covered in mud and soaked through," Bella repeated.

"Did he say what happened?"

"He wouldn't say anything."

"Could he have fallen in the lake?" Madam Pomfrey sounded worried as she voiced that thought.

Severus opened his eyes and tried to turn towards Bella where she stood in the doorway. He thought he saw the girl shrug her shoulders before he closed his eyes again. The voices became quieter and he slept again.

* * *

The next time Severus woke he heard the sound of whispers from across the room. He opened his eyes and lay silently watching the doorway.

"I don't like to leave him Minerva," Madam Pomfrey said in hushed tones.

"That's okay, quite understandable," the sharp tones of Professor McGonagall were softened slightly.

"If you wouldn't mind taking care of Remus again next week…?" Remus? Severus wondered.

"Of course," agreed McGonagall. "So you think Severus will still be here next week?"

"Hard to tell really." Madam Pomfrey sounded unsure of herself. "His illness isn't magical in origin and 'though there have been advances in magical cures for muggle illnesses he was too ill for the simple cures by the time he was brought to me. I can't give him Pepperup Potion with the fever he's running…far too dangerous. I've tried all the regular methods of bringing his temperature down but…"

Her voice trailed off though Severus couldn't tell if she had stopped speaking or whether he was simply too far away or too groggy to hear her.

"Well don't worry about Remus," Professor McGonagall said as she opened the door to leave.

"Thank you Minerva." Madam Pomfrey breathed a sigh of relief. "That's one less worry at least."

Professor McGonagall stepped through the door and closed it quietly behind her. Madam Pomfrey turned back towards Severus. He shut his eyes quickly so that she would not know that he had been watching and listening to their discussion.

* * *

When Severus next woke his fever had broken and although he was still weak he felt much better. He was shocked when Madam Pomfrey told him it was the following Sunday and he had been in the hospital wing for week.

One of the house elves brought breakfast for him and he found that his appetite had returned as he polished off his toast and eggs.

Madam Pomfrey was an attentive nurse and with no one else in the hospital wing Severus found that he was getting her undivided attention and she was a first class worrier. She was also a talented hairdresser and spelled his hair back to its usual length in a matter of minutes. Severus was relieved that she didn't ask him what had happened to his neat shoulder length hair although she covered just about every other subject available as she went about her duties.

As lunchtime approached he desperately grasped for a subject to take her mind off of his paleness and slightly scrawny appearance.

Although he didn't feel up to studying he decided that his missed schoolwork was a safe enough topic to bring up.

"Such a studious young man," she smiled. "Don't worry dear, Lily said she would stop by with notes from your classes later today."

"Lily's been here?"

"Been by every day after classes, she has."

Severus smiled at the thought of Lily taking the time to come and see him every day. He'd been making the effort to speak to her every day but had still worried that they were growing apart. He smiled wider at the thought of Lily making the effort to see him, just as he had made the effort to see her.

"Really?" he asked.

"Every day." Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Didn't you see the card there?"

Severus looked around and saw that there was indeed a card sitting on the end table at the side of his bed. He hadn't even spotted it before. Reaching across he picked it up and read the message inside. It was a simple get well soon card signed from Lily Evans. He put it back on the stand and smiled again.

"I hadn't noticed," he said. "Has anyone else been here?"

"No, just Lily." Madam Pomfrey turned back to her office at the end of the ward leaving Severus to once again wonder at why, when he was in trouble, once again Lily Evans was the only one to be there for him. Why hadn't Martin or one of the other Slytherin students been to check up on him since he'd been taken ill?

Severus passed the rest of the afternoon watching the moving paintings on the walls and becoming increasingly restless with the lack of activity.

Finally, just as he was finishing his dinner, he saw the door open and Lily herself strolled into the room with books and notes piled high in her arms.

"Severus! You're awake!" she called as she rushed across the room and deposited the books and parchment on the end of the bed.

Severus was not used to the sort of enthusiasm he was seeing from Lily, at least not when it was something to do with him. She'd always been a little shy and reserved, even when they'd been alone together. Unsure what to say he nodded towards the books. "Madam Pomfrey said you'd been taking notes for me."

"Er, yes," Lily flushed prettily. "I expect your friends in your own house have taken notes for you too. I just thought that since you're in my study group I would take some too."

"You still want me in your group?" Severus wondered if she had heard about his poor showing against James the previous weekend. If she had she wouldn't want him helping her with Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Of course" answered Lily in a puzzled tone as she rummaged through the rolls of parchment for the one she was looking for. "Here we are" she exclaimed at last. "We finally started the practical in Charms this week."

"Practical?"

"Oh have you already started that? We take it with Hufflepuff and I didn't think that we might be behind your class. After all Ravenclaw students do tend to pick up things quickly, and you're with them."

"No, we've not started the practical yet"

"Good," replied Lily with a grin. "Want me to demonstrate what we did?"

"Okay," Severus agreed and settled back to watch.

For the next half hour Lily demonstrated charm after charm, her graceful movements making feathers float and parchment roll itself up. She loaned Severus her wand to try one of the simpler ones himself but try as he might he could not seem to emulate Lily's grace and his jerky movements could not complete the charm.

He eventually gave up for the day and passed her wand back when he saw that he had another visitor. Bellatrix had decided to pay him a visit.

He quickly moved the notes Lily had brought him onto the side table, making sure that the card was hidden in the process. He didn't know why, but he was sure that he didn't want Bella and the other Slytherins knowing that Lily had sent him a card. Only then did he realise that he had not even thanked her for it.

"I'll come by again tomorrow?" Lily made her comment a question and Severus realised that she had seen what he had done and a feeling of guilt washed over him. He flushed as he nodded and Lily gathered her own books and hurried past Bella.

"What was _she_ doing here?" asked Bella as soon as the door had swung closed behind Lily.

"She just brought me the class notes," Severus replied.

"That's all?" Bella questioned.

"What else would she be doing here?" He laughed shakily and shrugged.

"Nothing," she agreed. "Just be careful. You don't want to be mixing with _her_ type if you don't have to."

"Her type?" Severus frowned and schooled his expression to one that he hoped gave the impression of confusion. He knew exactly what Bella was referring to.

He recalled the day that Lily had asked him whether her being a muggle-born made any difference. Even then he'd known that to some people it would. His mother had married a muggle, and her own status in the wizarding world had dropped. As a half-blood himself he had come across the prejudices before he'd ever arrived at Hogwarts. He'd been reluctant to shatter the dreams of his best friend…his only friend…by telling her the truth. So he'd lied to her, told her it made no difference. He wondered if she still believed that or whether someone like Bellatrix had shattered the illusion.

Bellatrix looked as though she was about to reply but at the arrival of Madam Pomfrey she quickly changed the subject to general chatter about what had been happening in his absence.

Bella only stayed a short while before leaving and Madam Pomfrey did not move out of earshot during the rest of her visit so Severus did not get a chance to find out whether she had discovered the truth about Lily's parentage. Something told him that her animosity was more than the usual Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry although he hoped that he was wrong.


	11. Summoned

**Part 11 – Summoned **

Severus spent the next day pondering over how to ask Lily what he wanted to know, without telling her about the prejudices of the wizarding world or revealing that he'd deliberately kept them from her. If she didn't already know about them he didn't want to be the one to tell her.

He was still wondering what to do the next afternoon when Lily arrived after her classes had finished for the day.

Depositing more notes onto the bed she appeared less enthusiastic than the day before and would not meet his eyes.

"You brought my wand?" Severus asked as he saw it resting between the parchment pages.

"Oh, yes," Lily answered quietly. "I thought you might do better with your own wand today so I asked Professor Slughorn to get it from your room."

"Thanks," Severus muttered, feeling that he had done something wrong but unsure what.

"Here are the notes from Herbology." Lily placed them with business like efficiency in front of Severus.

"Thanks," he muttered again, at a loss for something else to say. Turning around to get the Charms notes he spotted the card again and recalled that he had not thanked her for it.

"I don't have your History of Magic notes," Lily continued. "I stopped by to see Professor Binns but he just didn't seem to remember the class at all. You'll have to get them from one of the others. Okay?"

Severus nodded as he picked up the card and turned back to Lily. "I forgot to thank you for the card yesterday."

"That's okay." Lily blushed and continued to rifle through her notes. "I think that's everything."

"What?" Severus looked up in dismay. "You're not staying?"

"Um…well…" Lily stood up with her own books and notes and glanced towards the door.

With a clarity that surprised him Severus realised that Lily was worried that Bella was going to come back. "Bella won't be coming here" he assured her. "She has her OWLs this year and said she won't have time to come here every day."

"Oh." Lily did not sit back down and continued to look away. Eventually she took a deep breath and asked the question that had obviously been plaguing her. "Why did you hide my card yesterday?"

Severus remained quiet as he mulled the question over in his mind. Eventually Lily turned to look at him. Her green eyes were not sparkling with merriment as they had done the day before. Instead they looked sadder and slightly accusing. Taking a deep breath he decided that the only answer he could give was the truth.

"I don't know. I just didn't want Bella to see it. I don't know why."

"Didn't you like it?" Lily asked. "It has a spell on it to bring pleasant dreams to the person it's sent to."

Severus looked more closely at the card and realised that he had not even noticed the magical inscription on the reverse. The thoughtfulness of the gift was not lost on him. He smiled and nodded at Lily who finally sat back down.

"Remus helped me to pick it out from his Catalogue of Magical Gifts for All Occasions." Lily continued.

Unfortunately the name of Remus brought Severus's pleasure to an abrupt halt.

"Remus helped you pick the card?" Severus dropped it as though it had bitten him.

"Yes," Lily confirmed. "He had nothing to do with the duel" she whispered with a glance at Madam Pomfrey's office door.

"You know about the duel?" Severus was horrified. Did the whole school know what James had done to him?

Lily nodded in answer to his question and whispered her answer to his unspoken one. "James and Sirius came in bragging about the duel that night. All of Gryffindor knows."

"And the rest of the school?" Severus whispered.

"I don't think so." Lily shook her head. "They spent all Sunday in Gryffindor Tower doing the homework they hadn't done on Saturday. I think they spent all Saturday practising for the duel. By Monday everyone knew how ill you were and they kept quiet about what had happened after that."

"So only a quarter of the school knows," Severus hissed.

Lily backed up slightly at his scowl. Then she straightened her back and met his angry expression with an equally intimidating one of her own.

"Not everyone is impressed with what they did," she declared. "Remus told me he thought it was awful."

"Did he tell them that?" Severus sneered. "Or did he laugh along with them?"

Lily looked down at her hands. It was answer enough for Severus.

"Maybe I should go." Lily stood up again and turned to leave.

"No," called Severus, his temper vanished like vapour at the thought of her leaving.

"Are we still friends?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer. She turned back at his words, her green eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunlight.

"Of course we are," she assured him with a smile. "Nothing will change that."

Severus returned her smile with relief.

Lily resumed her seat and for the next hour the two of them practised the charms as they had done the day before. Once again Lily was graceful and competent in her efforts. Severus still struggled although he did find that there was some improvement now that he was using his own wand.

Lily departed for dinner with a promise to return the next day after classes. She had tentatively suggested that Remus might like to visit him too. Severus had been unable to stop the look of displeasure that he knew was on his face and Lily had quickly agreed that it might not be the best idea she'd ever had.

Severus hoped she didn't change her mind and bring the other boy with her the next day after all. He hoped that she didn't bring anyone with her. When she was with him in the hospital wing he was reminded of all the time they had spent alone together before coming to Hogwarts.

Of course now it was only an illusion, they were no longer entirely alone, but whilst they were practising their spells and chatting in the hospital wing, he could almost believe that it was just the two of them once more.

Severus watched Lily disappear out the door and settled back to read through the neatly written notes on the Herbology lessons as he waited for his own dinner to arrive. It was only much later that his thoughts turned once again to the worry that Lily might have found out about the prejudices against those who were muggle-born.

* * *

The next few days passed by in a slow and boring monotony and Severus soon felt well enough to be back with the rest of the school. The only time that he did not feel like a prisoner in the hospital wing was in the evenings when Lily stopped by before dinner to pass him his notes and let him know what was happening.

Severus had no other visitors and for the week that he remained confined he found that she was his lifeline to the outside world. Madam Pomfrey could only tell him so much and little that was of interest.

Hesitant to ruin things he decided against asking her whether she'd had any trouble since arriving at the school. He reasoned that he would find out sooner or later anyway if he just asked around. There was no need to risk upsetting Lily if he didn't have to.

* * *

On the following Saturday Severus was pronounced well enough to return to the main school. Gathering his notes, books, wand, Lily's card and a half eaten box of Every Flavour Beans, another gift from Lily, Severus was sent on his way by Madam Pomfrey who ordered him to go visit Professor Dumbledore before returning to the common room.

Wondering at why he would have to see the headmaster Severus let his mind wander through the possibilities as he wound his way through the extensive and ever changing corridors as he struggled to recall where exactly the entrance to the Headmaster's office was.

Finding it at last he spoke the password that Madam Pomfrey had written down for him, and watched as the staircase leading to the tower was revealed to him. Taking a deep breath he went up to Dumbledore's office wondering what it was that he had been summoned about.

The room appeared at first glance to be empty. The portraits of previous Headmasters and Headmistresses looked down on him with a vague kind of interest.

Severus wondered if he should take a seat or remain standing. How long should he wait? Was he in trouble?

With each minute that passed a feeling of dread crept over him.

Maybe Dumbledore had found out about the duel…

Maybe he was going to be expelled…

Maybe he was going to have to return home in disgrace…

Severus started to shake at the thought of facing his father after being expelled. Clutching his wand protectively he thought of the fury of his father and the disappointment of his mother.

His final thought, as he watched a door he had not even noticed open, was that he wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye to Lily.

"Ah Severus, there you are." Professor Dumbledore towered over Severus and gestured to the plain wooden chair in the centre of the room.

Like a prisoner on trial Severus reluctantly shuffled over to the seat and sat down. He kept his eyes on the floor and didn't notice that Dumbledore had taken the seat opposite him until he spoke again.

"I didn't expect to be having this talk with you Severus," he began with a sigh.

He _was_ being expelled. He was sure of it. Severus finally looked up to face the steady gaze of Hogwart's Headmaster.


	12. The Missing Cup

**Part 12 – The Missing Cup**

Dumbledore sighed again and picked up some papers from his desk. "You know we have to notify parents and guardians whenever a student is admitted to the hospital wing, don't you?"

Severus nodded wondering where this was going.

"I sent an owl to your parents and received this letter…" he waved it towards Severus "…by return. I have responded to it but decided to wait until your health was improved before speaking with you."

Severus looked at the letter as it waved in front of his face. He was too far away to make out the words but he immediately recognised his mother's neat script.

"Your mother is very concerned about you." Severus looked up at Dumbledore who nodded in answer to his questioning look. "She wrote to me before the school year started, asking if I could keep a watch over you."

"She did?" Severus was startled out of the muteness that had come over him by this unexpected news.

"She's been worried about you for the last year or two. She felt that you were alone too much, and was concerned at how you would settle into the school environment."

Severus frowned as he realised that his mother had mistakenly believed him to on his own when he'd actually been meeting Lily. Her rules to keep his distance from the muggle children (or risk doing magic in front of them) had kept him alone for much of the youngest years of his life. He'd never told either of his parents that he'd discovered another witch living so close by. Lily had been his secret, his friend and his only real escape from the dismal home life he'd led before he met her.

"I must admit," Dumbledore continued "that I thought her concerns to be unfounded and didn't think I would need to tell you about her letter."

"But now you do?" Severus asked in a small voice. He had a suspicion he knew what was coming.

"But now I do," Dumbledore agreed. "Your mother says she has sent you an owl nearly every day since you arrived here and heard nothing from you."

Severus looked at the floor, his suspicions confirmed. How could he explain that by responding to his mother's letters he would be reminded of his life at home? A life he wanted to push as far to the back of his mind as possible.

"I'm not going to ask what happened to put you in the hospital wing." Dumbledore paused a moment and Severus knew he was waiting for him to offer the information himself. He remained silent.

"Are you happy at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Severus responded quickly; the last thing he wanted was to be sent back home.

"You're making friends?"

Severus nodded.

"Friends in your own year?"

Severus looked up again. What did it matter if some of his friends were older than he was? "Some," he answered eventually.

"Madam Pomfrey did say that Lily Evans had been visiting you. A pleasant young witch. Delightful girl." Dumbledore spoke more to himself than to Severus. He nodded as though answering an unspoken question. Severus waited until Dumbledore had worked his way through his thoughts.

"I believe she lives quite near to you, doesn't she?" Dumbledore asked.

Severus nodded silently in response.

"Well Severus," Dumbledore seemed to have finally reached some sort of a decision. "Promise you'll write to your mother. She doesn't deserve to be worrying about you."

Severus nodded again and felt his face flush with guilt.

"Is there anything you want to ask me? Anything you want to talk to me about?" Dumbledore stood up and walked round to where Severus remained seated.

Severus shook his head. "No Sir."

"Very well." Dumbledore sighed and once again Severus had a feeling that he had disappointed him. "Take your things to your common room and then go on down to dinner. Your classmates will no doubt already be there."

Severus nodded and left to rejoin the main school.

* * *

Any visions Severus had of being welcomed back by the rest of the Slytherin students were soon shattered by the reception he received in the Great Hall. A few of the students nodded absently in his direction but barely a word was spoken to him. He walked to where Avery and Wilkes sat with the other first years. They begrudgingly moved aside to let him sit down but didn't bother to ask how he was.

Looking across the hall he saw Lily talking with Veronica. Almost as if she felt his gaze on her she looked up and gave a small wave in his direction. He smiled back before helping himself to some dinner.

When he next looked across Lily was engrossed in her conversation again but another face at the Gryffindor table was looking in his direction.

James Potter glared at him from across the room for a moment before whispering something to Sirius. They both laughed loudly before casting nasty looking grins across the room at him. Severus shot a look of pure venom towards them in response before turning back to his dinner. They would pay for leaving him out in the storm if it was the last thing he did.

Once everyone had finished eating some of the students made to leave the Great Hall. They were stopped in their tracks by Dumbledore who had risen to his feet as if to make a speech.

Severus realised from the murmurs of the students that this was an unusual thing to happen in the middle of the term.

"If everyone could remain at the tables for just a few minutes," Dumbledore called out in his commanding voice. The students that had stood up and walked towards the door turned back around and took their seats again. When the room was silent Dumbledore continued.

"As you all know in the Trophy Room here at Hogwarts there are a great many awards and cups for students who work hard to have a chance of winning for their house or themselves." A few of the students nodded although most of the school looked confused. The awards were not handed out until the end of the school year. Why mention them now?

"It is with sadness that I have to inform you that it has been brought to my attention by Mr Filch that last night one of the cups went missing from the Trophy Room. The circumstances would seem to indicate that the Player of the Year Cup for Quidditch has been stolen."

A collective gasp of astonishment was heard throughout the room. Severus looked around at the shocked faces of students. Who would take one of the cups? How would they take it? He had read _Hogwarts: A History_ and knew that the Trophy Room was well protected by spells so that it was impossible for thieves to steal any of the valuable cups. Apparently it was not as impossible as the author of the book had thought.

"I don't know if the cup has been taken for a prank or a game of some sort. If that is the case I expect it to be returned immediately and no further questions will be asked. If the cup is not returned by the end of the day I promise that whoever is responsible for the theft will be expelled."

The school remained silent, even after Dumbledore had indicated they could leave. Walking quietly back to their common rooms only the odd whisper sounded through the halls.

Severus found that he was leaving the Great Hall at the same time as Lily and he felt her press a small piece of paper into his hand. Instinctively palming it so that the other Slytherins would not see he gave Lily a small smile before hurrying after Martin and the others as they headed down to the dungeons.


	13. The Black Feud

**Part 13 – The Black Feud**

All the talk in the Slytherin common room was about the theft. But rather than being shocked and appalled about what had happened the general feeling amongst the Slytherin students was one of being impressed with whoever it was that had broken past the powerful spells.

Severus sat quietly in the corner and listened to the other students debate who could have taken the cup. Lucius was very impressed by the theft but was sure that it was an outside job. A loudmouthed fifth year named Rodolphus Lestrange argued against that idea at great length but he didn't know who had taken the cup either.

Everyone was caught up in the discussion and Severus decided that it would be safe to quickly look at the note Lily had passed to him.

_Study Group Meeting  
Library  
Sunday 10am_

Severus smiled in anticipation as he re-read the short note in the neat hand writing.

"What's that you've got, Severus?" Bellatrix asked as she settled down into the seat across from him. Reaching over she grabbed the note.

"Give it back." Severus stood up and made to snatch the piece of paper back.

Bella looked at the note and then at Severus. "The note isn't so interesting as your reaction to my reading it is." Bella stood up and held the paper high above her and well out of Severus's reach.

Severus scowled and sat back in his seat. Let her keep the note. He knew what it said anyway.

"Who sent it?" Bella asked. "Very neat hand writing. Feminine style, I'd say."

Severus blushed and Bella laughed as her guess was confirmed.

"Oh Severus," she laughed. "You really will have to learn to control your expressions and those fetching blushes. I can read you like a book."

Severus scowled even more and reached for the note that Bella passed back to him.

"So who is she?" Bella asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

Severus remained silent and glared at Bella.

"Is it Daphne?" she asked, looking over towards the skinny, brown-haired, pug-nosed, second year girl who was sitting near Lucius and hanging on his every word with an expression of adoration on her face.

"Urgh," Severus could not stop his response.

Bella laughed again and stood up. "Well I'll find out who she is tomorrow. All I have to do is swing by the library at ten o'clock."

Severus watched Bella wander across the room with a smirk on her face. Now what was he going to do? If Bella saw him with Lily he knew instinctively there would be trouble. But if he missed the meeting Lily might not invite him again.

When he went to bed a couple of hours later he was still pondering the problem but no nearer an answer.

* * *

The next morning Severus found the solution to his dilemma still eluded him. He went down to breakfast where Bellatrix gave him a smug grin before drinking her pumpkin juice. He knew she hadn't forgotten the note.

Severus decided to go to the library immediately after breakfast and make a start on reading up on what he had missed during his stay in the hospital wing. He hoped, rather than believed, that Bella would forget about him.

Finding a dark corner of the library, well away from the door Severus began reading up on the Goblin Wars. Engrossed in his books Severus did not notice when Lily and Veronica came across to his table shortly before ten o'clock. With them was Ravenclaw boy who Severus recognised as the boy who sat in the row in front of him in Charms.

"Dave Stubbs." He held out his hand towards Severus who hesitantly shook it.

"Let's move over there," said Lily pointing to a table near the window. Severus hesitated. The table she had indicated was clearly visible from the door. There would be no hiding if Bella came in. But Lily did not wait for an answer and Severus had no choice but to gather his things and follow her if he wanted to stay in the study group.

Severus looked nervously towards the door and jumped each time he heard it swing open. It was only when Lily and Veronica decided that it would be best to start with their Herbology reports that he was hit by an inspiring idea.

"Let's go do the report outside," he announced. "All the herbs for this report are available on the grounds. We can draw them from life instead of just reading about them."

"But it's cold out," whined Veronica, a look of annoyance on her face.

Dave looked unsure for a moment before agreeing that seeing the plants and herbs would be a good idea.

It looked like it was up to Lily. She looked at Veronica, then out of the window, then back at Veronica again.

"It needn't be for long," encouraged Severus. Just long enough for Bella to stop by, see he wasn't there, and leave.

"Okay," said Lily as she gathered her books up again. Veronica groaned but picked up her books too.

Severus practically ran from the library and out onto the grounds with the others following behind him. He thought he saw Bellatrix Black at every turn but rationally told himself that he was imagining things.

Once he was outside he came to a halt and waited for the others. When they had caught up with him they walked over to the greenhouses, discussing their ideas for their essays.

They worked on the Herbology reports for over an hour before heading back to the library to start on the next subject before lunch.

Walking into the library again Severus was not prepared for the sight that greeted him and he came to an abrupt halt. Veronica actually walked right into him, he stopped so suddenly.

Bellatrix had indeed gone to the library that morning. So had her cousin Sirius and as Severus walked through the door he practically tripped over them where they stood hissing at each other despite the protests of the librarian who was trying to encourage them out of the door.

"You're a disgrace to the name Black," Bella hissed.

"Says you!" Sirius spat back.

"Says everyone." Bella's voice rose a little in her passion for the subject.

"Quiet now," hushed the librarian as she tried to push the students towards the door.

"Just because I don't like to see muggles being tortured," Sirius argued.

"Pathetic," Bella sneered. "You're a Black and now you are at Hogwarts it's time to decide where your loyalties lie."

"I know where they lie." Sirius stood taller and Severus realised that he was nearly as tall as Bellatrix was despite their ages.

"I don't think you do," said Bella with a threatening note to her voice. "It's about time you learnt that the Black family stands together."

"Together against who?" shouted Sirius. "Muggles? What have they ever done to us?"

"Enough!" the librarian shouted, her voice echoing around the room.

Sirius remained where he stood, as Bella seemed to remember where they were.

"Out, the pair of you," ordered the librarian, pointing at the door.

Severus stood aside as Sirius pushed passed him. It was not lost on him that this was the first time since they had given him the name that Sirius did not call him _Snivellus_ as he saw him.

Bellatrix remained where she was for a moment before turning towards the door herself.

Severus unconsciously distanced himself from Lily and the others and stood nearer to where a group of Slytherin students had gathered to watch the Black cousins arguing.

Bella did not seem to see Severus but from where he stood he did not miss her look of venom towards Lily.

The door swung closed behind Bella and Severus knew that he couldn't put off speaking to Lily about her being a muggle-born much longer.


	14. Lily's Secret

**Part 14 – Lily's Secret **

Severus followed Lily over to a table where she put her books down with a false cheerfulness.

"Why does Bella dislike you?" he asked after a moment of hesitation. A part of him still hoped that maybe the older girl's venom towards his friend stemmed from a reason other than Lily's birth.

"Bella_trix_ doesn't dislike me," Lily answered in a quiet but harsh tone that Severus had rarely heard her use before. "She _hates_ me."

"But why?" Severus pressed on. He still didn't want to reveal what he suspected and hoped against hope that perhaps his guess was wrong.

Lily shrugged and refused to answer the question. Severus tried again but Lily just avoided his gaze and buried herself in her books.

Dave looked as puzzled but Severus had a feeling that Veronica knew the truth.

"Veronica?" he asked with a glare that could rival Professor McGonagall's.

Veronica paled and looked at Lily who gave her an equally intimidating stare before scowling at Severus.

"Lily hasn't done anything wrong," Veronica whispered with a nervous glance at Lily who was now looking studiously at her book. "It's because of what she is."

"Because she's a Gryffindor?" asked Severus, knowing even as the words slipped out that he was clutching at straws. It wasn't as if Bella went out of her way to befriend people in other houses, but neither did she seem to hate them as much as she did Lily.

"No." Veronica shook her head. "It's because Lily's a -"

"Leave it!" Lily hissed at Veronica, cutting her off.

Severus felt certain he knew what it was that Veronica was going to say…a muggle-born. He wondered why Lily had stopped her friend from speaking. Then he realised that there were plenty of people in the library, in earshot, who would not know anything about Lily or her parents. It seemed that Lily wanted it to remain that way. She _had_ found out about the prejudices and Severus had the distinct impression that she was angry with him for not telling her about them when he'd had the chance.

He knew he had to speak to Lily and try to explain but it would have to wait until he could speak with her alone…and until he could think of a way to explain his lie.

Picking up his books and looked towards the clock. "It's almost lunchtime."

"Yeah," said Dave standing up. "I'm starving. Same time next week?"

Severus nodded and looked at Lily. He did not want to carry on with the group today, as they had initially planned. The atmosphere was too tense for any of them to work in. Veronica looked down at her books. Lily however met his eyes and shrugged. "Sure" she said before picking up her own books and walking out of the library ahead of him.

* * *

Lily remained surrounded by her friends whenever Severus saw her again that day. It almost made him wish he were back in the hospital wing so he could speak with her alone.

Eventually he realised that he was not going to get the chance to speak with her that day and returned to the common room alone.

He hadn't been in the room more than a minute when Bellatrix approached him.

"So how was your _date?_" she asked with a sneer.

Severus scowled and ignored the question. His stomach lurched as he realised that Bella had been more observant than he had thought. She _had_ seen him with Lily.

"I told you before," Bella hissed, "you don't want to be mixing with _her_ type."

"Why not?" asked Severus with calmness he did not feel.

The sneering look of distaste disappeared from Bella's face and a look of surprise took its place. "You don't know?" she asked.

"Know what?" Severus snapped with a bite of impatience. This was it, the moment when he'd find out for sure what it was Bellatrix had against Lily. He knew what she was going to say but still half hoped that she'd reveal some other transgression that his friend had been a party to.

"You don't know what she is?" Bella laughed. "Of course you don't! You didn't sit with us on the train did you? That was when Lucius told us."

Severus glared at her. He hadn't forgotten that she had laughed at him during that unpleasant journey. Eager to change the subject he decided to ask once and for all the question he wanted answered. "What is it about Lily that you hate?"

Bella looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "It's not so much about her as her parents. They're…" Bella looked around her as though she was about to divulge a huge secret "…muggles."

His last hope vanished with her words. Severus realised that he'd been fooling himself ever since that day in the hospital wing…maybe even longer if he were to be completely honest with himself.

"Sorry to disappoint you Severus." Bella tried to sound sympathetic but failed. "I guess you liked her. But, well, she's just not your type is she? Better you know now so you can stay away from her in the future. Even as a half-blood you're too good for the likes of her. It used to be they never let mudbloods like that into Hogwarts but things have changed." Bella sighed.

Severus looked down at his books. It didn't make any difference to him who her parents were. She was smart, pretty and kind. It didn't matter to him that neither of her parents could do magic.

But even as he knew it didn't matter to him he quickly realised that to Bellatrix Black and the rest of the Slytherins it mattered very much, and they were the people he had to live with.

"You're right!" he said with a false bravado. "How was I to know she was a mudblood?"

Bella smiled in approval and slapped him on the back as she wandered back to her seat by the fire.

Severus had heard the term mudblood before but had never used it himself. He hoped that Lily would never find out that he'd spoken it today in reference to her.

He recalled a conversation that had taken place earlier in the term when Lucius had spoken about how his father was complaining about mudbloods being allowed further into the wizard community than ever before. He hadn't joined in the conversation himself. He knew that as a Slytherin he should believe in the same values as Lucius and his friends. He should think the same way.

So why didn't he?

He pushed aside thoughts of speaking to Lily about the problem. He was reluctant to draw her attention to the lie he'd told when she'd asked him whether her being a muggle-born made any difference.

As he sat in the common room staring unseeing into the fire he slowly talked himself out of speaking with Lily about the matter.

Severus frowned in concentration and made his decision. Now he knew for sure what the problem was between Bella and Lily he would just have to be more careful. He had no intention of breaking off his friendship just because of who her parents were. All he had to do was make sure that none of the Slytherins knew that they were friends…and make sure that Lily never discovered that he had called her a mudblood behind her back.

How difficult could it be?


	15. Payback

**Part 15 – Payback **

The next morning Severus knew exactly how hard it was going to be.

He walked out to the grounds ready for Madam Hooch's Monday morning flying lesson with the Gryffindors. He kept a firm grip on his broom. There would be no chance of James Potter switching it with another again.

Lily was stood with Veronica and gave him a small wave as he walked across the grass with Avery and Wilkes. Both of the Slytherin boys saw her and looked questioningly at him. Making the decision to ignore Lily he pretended not to see her. He walked on past her and tried to ignore the slightly hurt look on her face.

He did not have to think on her reaction for long though as James, Sirius and Peter were waiting for him with smug expressions on their faces.

"We hear you had the sniffles _Snivellus,_" called Sirius as the others burst into laughter.

Severus ignored them and continued to walk past them.

"Did you use up the entire supply of hankies for that big nose of yours?" James spluttered out between laughs. Sirius and Peter were clutching their sides as they gasped to draw in air between their hysterics.

"I don't see Remus about," Severus commented idly. "Been expelled has he? Won't be too long before you follow him out the gates."

"Expelled?" James stopped laughing a moment before falling to the grass as he shook with laughter again. "Expelled? You wish!"

"Oh, so he just decided not to bother with lessons today then?" Severus sneered.

"Not that it's anything to do with you," Sirius walked over to Severus until he was stood within inches of him, "but Remus was taken ill at the end of last week."

"Must be something serious." Severus put as much gleefulness into his voice as he could muster with the tall and intimidating Sirius standing over him.

"No." James sounded confused at his comment. "What makes you think that? Apart from the fact that you're a nasty little git who gets enjoyment from the misery of others."

"He wasn't in the hospital wing." Severus smugly watched James and Sirius exchange a quick glance. They looked surprised at his comment.

"You're lying," Sirius said in a decisive voice. "Remus said he was going to the hospital wing and that's where he is."

"I'm not a liar!" Severus yelled as he reached into his robes and pulled out his wand.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Madam Hooch's voice rang out through the grounds and Severus's wand flew into the air and well away from where he had been pointing it at Sirius's nose.

"Ten points from Slytherin," Madam Hooch announced in a stern voice, much to the glee of the grinning Gryffindors. "There is no need for wands to be in hands in my class. Now pick up those brooms and get in the air."

Severus picked his wand up off of the grass his face red with embarrassment and anger. Stashing it back in his robe he mounted his broom and hovered a short distance above the ground with the rest of the students as they waited for instructions.

"Today," Madam Hooch called out, "you will be practising throwing the quaffle between yourselves as you did last week. But this week you will be in groups of three and will take it in turns to practice intercepting the quaffle between passes."

Madam Hooch opened a box containing a number of quaffles and as the students divided into teams she threw them each a ball and the class spread out over the grounds.

Severus saw Lily wave at him from the corner of his eye but again he pretended not to see her and joined Wilkes and Avery at the far side of the grounds. He wondered how he would explain away his actions when he had to face her but decided to worry about that later.

Practising throwing the quaffle after missing so many classes was not easy but Severus felt relieved that at least he was doing better than Peter Pettigrew. He was trying to intercept the ball being thrown between James and Sirius with no success whatsoever. He could barely stay on his broom using both hands and each time he let go to reach for the ball he veered off in one direction or another. James and Sirius didn't seem too bothered about him though and continued to throw the ball to each other with easy grace. Severus scowled in their direction before an idea came to him.

Looking around he saw that Madam Hooch was at the far end of the grounds with her back to him. Lily meanwhile was trying to intercept the quaffle her own team had and was not looking his way.

With a devious grin on his face he steadied his broom and reached for his wand. Pulling it out he pointed it at James and called out "_Lubricus_ Cleansweep."

His voice was thankfully lost amidst the wind and the shouts of the other students. But the effect of his spell on James's broom was not.

Avery gasped in awe as he saw what was happening. Wilkes turned round too and let out a laugh of delight. Severus didn't laugh at what he saw though. He merely watched the effect of his jinx on the broom with an odd sort of detachment.

As his spell took effect he saw that James could not stay on his broom and kept sliding off. He struggled to keep a grip on the broom but the spell had caused the handle to become as slippery as an eel and Severus knew that he could not maintain his balance for long. Although James was athletic enough to swing himself back onto the broom he could not stop himself from sliding off the other side almost immediately.

Severus watched James with a calculating expression and waited for Madam Hooch to see that one of the students was in difficulties.

Sure enough after a few minutes she flew over and pulled James from the broom which fell to the floor without its rider.

"It was him!" James yelled as he pointed up to where Severus was watching about twenty feet above the ground.

"Severus Snape, come down here at once!" Madam Hooch looked furious. Severus obeyed at once and landed a moment later a short distance away from where the livid James was stood.

"You little git!" screamed James as he launched himself forward. Madam Hooch caught him just in time before he tackled Severus to the ground.

"Control yourself Potter," she admonished. "Brawling like a child."

She turned to Severus who stood glaring at James. "Did you have anything to do with this broom's behaviour?"

Severus shook his head.

"He's lying!" James continued to seethe. Sirius by now had come down from the air too and stalked over just in time to chime in.

"I saw him Madam Hooch."

"Liar," Severus hissed. _He knew they had all been looking in the other direction, he had made sure of that._

"What did you see Severus do?" Madam Hooch asked Sirius who now had her undivided attention.

"He didn't see me do anything," Severus continued to plead his case.

"Enough!" shouted Madam Hooch, who was clearly at the end of her patience. "I don't know exactly what has happened here and suspect that no matter who I hear from the whole story will not be told. So ten points from each of you and if there's even one more incident from any of you in my class you'll all spend detention mowing the Quidditch pitch by hand for the rest of the year."

That was enough to quieten everyone down and as the class was now ended they all headed back inside for lunch.

Severus was one of the last to leave after putting his broom away and the rest of the Slytherins had gone on ahead, eager to report what had happened in the lesson.

"Severus, you didn't do anything to James's broom did you?"

Severus turned round to see that Lily had been waiting for him. He waited for the other stragglers to move out of earshot before turning to Lily. "So what if I did?"

"You could have hurt him." Lily sounded truly shocked that he could have done anything like that.

"Like he hurt me?" Severus could not keep the sneer out of his voice no matter how hard he tried.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Lily countered.

"No, but they can make you feel a lot better," Severus snapped before walking off. He heard Lily hurrying after him but didn't slow down.

"Severus, wait," she called. He carried on walking until she caught hold of his arm and brought him to a halt.

"Have I done something to upset you?" she asked, a little hesitantly. Severus shook his head but could not look at her.

"It's just that you ignored me this morning."

"I just didn't see you," Severus knew the words sounded false even to his own ears.

"You knew I'd be in the class like I always am, but you didn't even say hello." Lily wasn't buying his explanation. He didn't blame her. Severus didn't know what to say to that.

"If you don't want to be friends any more, all you have to do is say so." Lily was getting angrier than he'd ever seen her. Her eyes flashed and her face was flushed as her temper rose.

"No…I mean yes…I mean I do still want us to be friends." Severus tried to calm her down but didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"Then start acting like it," Lily retorted. Severus stood mute and wondered what he could possibly do to make things right. He knew he had waited too long when Lily turned on her heel and marched away.

"I'm sorry," he called after her but if she had heard him she didn't give any indication.

He felt his eyes well up with tears and he turned to punch the stone wall behind him. He would find a way to make it up to her without the Slytherins knowing that they were still friends. He didn't have a clue how, but he promised himself that he would.


	16. The Restricted Section

**Part 16 – The Restricted Section**

For the next week Severus did his best to try to get Lily's attention so that he could put things back to the way they were. But whilst before he had found that Lily was often looking his way, now he found that she was always looking very pointedly in the opposite direction. There was also the added complication that she was always surrounded by a group of friends and try as he might, he could not find a way to see Lily alone in order to set things right. All this whilst trying not to let the other Slytherin students spot what he was trying to do.

The following Sunday Severus kept a close eye on Bellatrix and when he had decided that she was too engrossed in her work to notice him he left the common room to go to the library to see if the study group was there.

Ducking at every turn whenever he spotted a Slytherin student wandering the corridors, it took Severus almost half an hour to make it to the library entrance.

Taking a deep breath and resolving to speak with Lily, even if she was surrounded by her friends, Severus pushed open the door and entered the room.

Looking around Severus felt a keen sense of disappointment when he realised that after all his efforts Lily and the others were not even there.

Walking up and down the aisles for a second time confirmed that his first glance had been correct. Lily and the others had either moved their meetings elsewhere or had decided not to meet today. Severus had a suspicion that bordered on paranoia that the meeting was taking place somewhere else so that Lily could avoid him. Scowling and frustrated Severus dumped his books onto a table in a darkened corner of the room and set about doing his homework alone.

* * *

It was in Tuesday's Charms class when Severus realised that he was going about things in the wrong way. Sitting in the classroom he realised that the answer to his problem was sitting right in front of him. The previous week he had been so distracted in thinking about pulling Lily aside that he had forgotten about Dave.

The Ravenclaw boy either did not realise that Severus was behind him or he was ignoring him. Severus decided it did not matter which, he was going to get a message to him anyway.

Scribbling his message on a spare piece of parchment he then used the_ Wingardium Leviosa_ spell to float the parchment away from him and over to Dave.

Severus did not know what made him the most happy - finally getting the spell to work or Dave's note slipped back in the same fashion letting him know the group's meeting had merely been cancelled the week before and they were meeting in the library the next Sunday if he wanted to join them.

Pocketing the note he saw that Martin had spotted the exchange though Severus knew that he would not have been able to make out the writing from where he was sat. Anyway he silently reasoned Dave was a Ravenclaw and not a Gryffindor and there would be no reason for Martin to mention the notes to Bella. Severus wondered briefly if Bella had seen Dave with them the previous week but brushed it off. There was no reason to think that she had anything against Dave who he knew was from a pure blood family. Besides which he suspected that Bella had been too pre-occupied with Sirius Black, Lily Evans and himself to notice anyone else.

* * *

The problem of how to get to the group the next Sunday if Bella decided to go to the library was a problem that ended up being resolved with no effort on Severus's part whatsoever.

Being a first year student Severus had not taken a great deal of notice of the Hogsmeade visits that the third years and above were allowed to have. But he was delighted to find that the first visit of the year was actually the next weekend and Bella had made it known that she was going to be going together with Lucius and the rest of their group of friends.

And so it came about that the following Sunday Severus was able to go to meet the others in the library without having to worry about unexpected visits from the older Slytherin students. The first and second years meanwhile were delighted to have the common room to themselves for a while and did not appear to have any intentions of going to the library.

Severus crept away shortly before ten o'clock and arrived at the library at the same time as Lily and Veronica. Through the window he could see that Dave was already seated at a table surrounded by books.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked with a sigh of impatience.

"The study group." Severus hesitated at the flash of dislike Veronica shot his way.

"Are you sure you want to join us?" Lily raised an eyebrow in question and waited. Severus nodded slowly.

"Okay then," Lily moved past him to go through the door to the library where Dave was waiting for them.

Severus breathed a sigh of relief. Not for the first time he realised that it was his good fortune that Lily was not the type to hold grudges. Following behind her he did not see that James Potter and his friends had also decided to work in the library that morning. But they had certainly spotted him the second he walked through the door.

For a couple of hours Severus worked alongside the others and gradually Lily's attitude towards him thawed and by the time they came to starting their work for Defence Against the Dark Arts Severus thought that things were finally getting back to normal.

"I think I read something about the dark arts used by goblins over the holidays…" Dave commented as they discussed the questions.

"Me too," replied Severus. "Wait here and I'll see if they have the book I read in the library."

Standing up from the table Severus wandered through the high shelves as he searched for the Dark Arts book he had been reading during the holidays. Although the book was really about the Dark Arts themselves there was also a section on Defence alongside each chapter. It was an ideal opportunity to show the others how the two subjects combined.

It only took a few minutes for Severus to spot the book on the highest shelf of one of the aisles. It was just out of his reach but before he could turn around to find the steps to use to get it a hand appeared and plucked the book off of the shelf.

"After this _Snivellus_?" Sirius Black was one of the tallest students in the year. He had reached the book with ease and stood idly flicking through it with a smirk on this face.

Severus backed off a few paces. He didn't think that Sirius would try something in the library with Madam Pince across the room.

Turning around he collided with James who stood leaning against the bookcase, blocking the way out of the aisle.

Severus backed up again, straight into Sirius who had followed up behind him.

"Careful there _Snivellus,_" he sneered. "You don't want to _trip_ do you?"

The thinly veiled threat was clear as Sirius moved to lean against the bookcase opposite James.

Severus looked past them to where Remus sat at one of the tables. Although he appeared to be intent on his book Severus caught his worried glance in their direction. But a glance was not going to help him and Remus soon turned back to his book.

Backing up again Severus felt himself fall over backwards as he stumbled over Peter's outstretched leg. James and Sirius laughed quietly while Peter snickered.

Scrambling to his feet Severus was now at least safely past the group and he quickly backed away and around the corner. Unfortunately he had got turned about in the similar looking aisles and instead of working his way back to Dave, Lily and Veronica he was now in front of the entrance to the restricted section of the library.

Leaning back against the entrance he was quickly surrounded by the other three.

James looked at Sirius and raised an eyebrow in question. Sirius grinned, checked that Madam Pince was still occupied elsewhere, and pulled out his wand.

"You wouldn't dare." Severus couldn't believe that they were going to risk hexing him in the middle of the library.

"_Alohomora,_" Sirius commanded as he pointed his wand at the lock to the restricted section. The door flew open and for the second time Severus felt himself falling backwards. Reaching out wildly he grabbed hold of a book to try to stop his fall. It didn't work and he merely dislodged several books from the shelves that came crashing down on him. One or two of the books started to scream as the pages fell open. The shrieking echoed through the library.

Severus struggled to close the books that were making the most noise and finally succeeded a few minutes later. Breathing a sigh of relief he stood up and turned around to face the furious gaze of Madam Pince who stood in the entrance to the restricted section.

Behind her Severus saw James and his friends grinning at him from the doorway to the library. Peter gave a little wave in his direction before they all left the library, Sirius making a loud comment about it being too noisy to work.

The noise had also attracted the attention of the rest of his study group who were stood behind Madam Pince. Lily was frowning at him and her expression was echoed in the faces of the others.

"Well young man," Madam Pince asked "just what do you think you are doing in the restricted section?"

Severus stood speechless for a moment. But before he could gather himself enough to respond Madam Pince continued.

"Entering into parts of the school where you are not allowed will get you into serious trouble. This section is restricted for a reason. Wandering where you are not supposed to will cause people to think you're up to something. They might even think you are the one stealing the cups."

"Cups?" asked Dave from behind Madam Pince. "Only one has been stolen, hasn't it?"

"Another one was taken last night," Madam Pince replied. "Professor Dumbledore will be letting the whole school know at dinner tonight."

She turned back to Severus with a sharp glare. "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

"N-n-n-o," Severus stammered.

"Come on out of there," Madam Pince sighed. Severus walked past her and watched as she locked the door behind him. "The restricted section is out of bounds to first year students. I will be reporting this to your head of house."

Madam Pince walked back to her desk leaving Severus to face the anger of the rest of his group.


	17. The Shack and the Search

**Part 17 – The Shack and the Search**

"It wasn't my fault," insisted Severus as he followed Lily back to the table. She didn't reply and merely picked up his books and scrolls and turned to deposit them into his arms. Severus looked at them blankly.

"Study group's over for the day," said Lily firmly. For a moment she looked as though she wasn't going to say anything else but then sighed and continued. "You can join us again next week if you like."

"Thanks," replied Severus with a matching sigh.

"But," Lily called after him "if you don't get this business with James and Sirius sorted you'll have to find another group to work with. It's not fair on the rest of us to have their problems with you disrupting the whole group."

Severus nodded in reply and turned to leave the library, Madam Pince's glare following him out of the room.

"Sort it out?" Severus muttered as he slowly walked back through the corridors towards the Slytherin common room. _How in the world was he going to do that?_

For the rest of the day Severus kept to himself in the corner of the common room. _Another study group_, Lily had said. No one else had even spoken to him since returning to the common room. Who would have _him_ in their study group? Taking a break only for lunch he worked hard on his homework and was finished with the last of the essays by mid-afternoon.

Setting down his quill with relief he realised that he hadn't even noticed the common room filling up again. The noise of the students who had returned from Hogsmeade had completely escaped his attention.

Lucius stood in front of the fireplace as he spoke with authority about the wonders of the village to the wide-eyed first and second year students.

"Tell them about the haunted house," called out Bella from her seat across the room.

"What about it?" asked Avery who was hanging on every word from Lucius.

"Someone's built a new house on the land at the edge of Hogsmeade," began Lucius. "The owner must be wealthy as it's on Hogwarts land, the most expensive land in Britain."

"Who _is_ the owner?" asked Wilkes as he leaned forward on his seat in anticipation.

"No one knows," said Lucius with a pause for effect. "No one's moved in and the house is already in disrepair."

"Tell them the rest," called Bella with the glee of someone who knew the best was yet to come.

"I will," called back Lucius with a hint of disapproval in his voice at being interrupted. He waited in silence until he was sure that everyone's focus was on him. When he was sure he had everyone's undivided attention he finally continued in a hushed tone. "The villagers are saying it's haunted."

"I never heard about any ghosts in Hogsmeade itself," questioned Avery in a tone of suspicion.

"Me neither," agreed Wilkes with a shake of his head.

"Well it is," Lucius insisted. "The villagers are reporting screams and shrieks coming from it. They've started to call it The Shrieking Shack."

"How can a new house be haunted?" asked the still unconvinced Avery.

"No one knows," Lucius replied in a mysterious, low tone, that somehow still managed to carry throughout the common room. "There are rumours that someone was murdered on the land years ago and that it is the victim screaming their death cries over and over again. They say that the screams are getting louder because the victim's body has been disturbed. They say the murderer was never caught and he's coming back to the area to make sure the body isn't discovered. It's a warning of more murders to come."

Severus felt a shiver go down his spine as Lucius elaborated on his story to his eager audience. He wasn't afraid of ghosts, none of the students were, after all there were ghosts aplenty at Hogwarts. But for some reason he could not shake off the feeling that there was a grain of truth somewhere in Lucius's story.

The debate over the new ghost in Hogsmeade continued right through to dinner in the Great Hall. Lucius had tried to persuade the Bloody Baron to find out information about the Shrieking Shack from the other ghosts, but so far they didn't know anything more than the rumours from the village. Before disappearing the Bloody Baron did comment that the Hogwarts ghosts avoided the building where the new ghost was now being heard.

Throughout the meal the lively discussions continued and it was clear that the other house tables were talking about the ghostly presence too.

It was only when Dumbledore stood up at the end of the meal that a quiet hush fell over the hall. Everyone turned in anticipation to hear what the headmaster had to say. It was only then that Severus remembered what Madam Pince had said about the new theft. Turning to Avery beside him he whispered what the librarian had told him about the cup being stolen, though he was careful to leave out what had prompted her to tell him about the theft.

Dumbledore's announcement began in much the same way as his previous one had. But this time there was no promise of leniency if the cup was returned. The Player of the Year cup was still missing and now the trophy for Excellency in Herbology was gone too. There was no longer any hope that the cups would be restored to their rightful places without a search of the school…and a search of the school there would be.

"Would all students please follow your house prefects back to your common rooms," asked Dumbledore. "Please remain there until your heads of house arrive to conduct the search of each student's property."

There were a few murmurs of discontent amongst the students. Not everyone was pleased at the thought of having their belongings searched by the teachers. Severus was not concerned though. He knew he had nothing he shouldn't have. He was rather pleased to see James and Sirius exchanging worried glances at the Gryffindor table.

Severus stood up with the rest of the Slytherins and followed after Lucius and the other prefects who guided them all back to the dungeon.

Once in the common room everyone began to talk about the latest theft. There had been no agreement before about who could have managed to steal the cup but now there was an additional theft more and more people were starting to believe that perhaps it was someone inside the school after all. For who could break into Hogwarts once, let alone twice? Lucius however was still adamant that it was an outside job. His argument that all students should realise that it was obvious that sooner or later the school would be searched was a very convincing one. What student would risk expulsion from the greatest wizarding school in the world?

"But the cups could be hidden anywhere in the school?" argued Rodolphus. "All anyone would have to do is find somewhere to hide them and get rid of them later. Even if they are found there would be nothing to incriminate the thief."

"Sounds like you have it all figured out," sneered Lucius. "You sure you don't know anything about the thefts?"

"What would I want a couple of crummy cups for?" laughed Rodolphus, not offended at all by Lucius's comment.

"That's a point," said Bella. "How is the thief ever going to sell the cups on? They're all engraved with the Hogwarts shield which can't be removed."

"They could melt them down and sell the raw materials," suggested Wilkes, to the laughter of the older students.

"The cups can't be destroyed," informed Severus, secure in his knowledge of the contents of _Hogwarts: A History._

"Wouldn't be worth much anyway," said Rodolphus. "Not enough to make it worth the effort of taking them. Which is why no one outside the school would bother to come in and steal the cups."

"I agree with Lucius," announced Narcissa with a smile in Lucius's direction. "No student here would take the cups and risk expulsion for something they can't get rid of. But what about the ghosts?"

"Peeves!" cried Rodolphus. "Of course!"

"It would be just like him," agreed Bella.

Lucius nodded thoughtfully but any comment he was about to make was cut off by the entrance of Professor Slughorn, closely followed by Filch and Madam Pince, both armed with scrolls and glaring at the students.

"Please remember we're looking for the stolen cups," muttered Professor Slughorn in a loud whisper to the eager looking Filch.

"I know, I know," nodded Filch. "But might as well take the opportunity to check there's nothing else here that shouldn't be."

"And some of these books are long overdue," said Madam Pince as she waved a scroll listing her missing library books about.

Professor Slughorn muttered something under his breath again as he turned towards the waiting students.

Severus was still not worried about what they might find in his belongings, but he did notice a few of the students had begun to shift uncomfortably in their seats.

Waiting in the common room the staff went to the dormitories and called through all the students for that room in turn.

They started with the seventh year, Severus assumed that their choice was on the basis that only the older and cleverer students would have the knowledge to get past the spells guarding the trophies.

The speculation continued in whispers as the students waited their turns to watch their things be thoroughly searched. And in the case of a number of students, to explain just why they had in their possession various items that were on Filch's list of banned items.

Evan Rosier had returned back to the common room with the other third years bemoaning the loss of almost all of his purchases from his first trip to Hogsmeade. Like most third year students he had spent considerable time that day in Zonko's Joke Shop and he had brought a dozen stink pellets and a number of fireworks. Unfortunately they were now all in the possession of Filch who could barely carry all of his acquisitions.

Madam Pince had managed to track down a few of her lost books but sounded eager to get to the Ravenclaw rooms where she was sure she would find the rest.

Eventually they came to the first year students and Severus stood up with the others to have his own belongings searched.

Although Madam Pince looked with glee at the books he had in his cupboard her face fell when she realised that they were his own copies and not from the library. Professor Slughorn picked up one of the books and flicked through it randomly. He paled slightly as he gauged the contents and cast a sharp glance in Severus's direction. Severus shifted from one foot to the other as he realised that it was one of his Dark Arts books that had caught the attention of the professor.

Professor Slughorn didn't say anything to Severus though and merely returned the book to its place on the cupboard shelf. He shook his head slightly as he moved away from Severus towards Martin Avery's cupboard across the room. Severus had seen the look he gave him once before. It had been the same look that Professor Dumbledore had had on his face just after Severus had been sorted into Slytherin House.

Disappointment.

Why was it everyone seemed to be disappointed in him?

Returning back to the common room with the other first years Severus waited quietly whilst the first year girls' room was searched too.

Once the search was over everyone waited in the common room for news of the rest of the searches. Some time later everyone was called back to the Great Hall.

Professor Dumbledore stood at the head table as the students filed back in.

Severus looked across to the Gryffindor table. James and his friends were there already. They didn't look quite as gleeful as usual and Severus knew instinctively that Filch had removed something from their possessions during the search. A smug smile spread across his face. It did not vanish at the glare James shot in his direction when he caught his gaze on him.

The smile stayed on his face all through Dumbledore's report that the cups had not been found. Amidst the sombre expressions around the hall, Severus did not realise that his smile was drawing a lot of attention from various people, students and staff alike.

Severus Snape, who had spent much of his life being ignored and disregarded, did not even realise that his inappropriate smile was drawing a lot of unwanted attention.


	18. The Quidditch Match

**Part 18 – The Quidditch Match**

For the next few days the talk amongst the students revolved around two topics. The thefts from the Trophy Room and the start of the Quidditch season.

The first match was to be the following weekend and Rodolphus Lestrange, a beater for the Slytherin house team was furious that the cups had not been returned. He declared he was the favourite to win the Player of the Year cup, and was backed up in his assertion by both Bellatrix Black and his brother Rabastan.

Lucius, a chaser, and the new Team Captain also expressed his displeasure in the lack of progress in finding the cups.

Meanwhile the taunting of Severus from James Potter and Sirius Black seemed to have taken second place to their flying practices as they tried, unsuccessfully, to make it onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Severus didn't try to suppress a small smile of glee as he overheard James telling Sirius and Remus that the Gryffindor Team Captain had just told him that they were too young to join the team yet. He stood quietly on the staircase and looked down to where James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were stood chatting before going to their first class.

"He still says we need more experience," said James, as he stood absently ruffling his hair.

"Oh well," replied Sirius. "First years never make the house team anyway. We knew that before we tried out."

"Just thought that since the team lost so many players this year, and they'd been struggling to find replacements in the tryouts last month, they might consider us after all." James sighed and looked longingly out the door in the direction of the pitch.

"Well he said not to get our hopes up when we tried out," reasoned Sirius.

"But they took so long to pick the new team members. I thought maybe…"

"Maybe what?" laughed Sirius. "Maybe they'd let us on the team in the week before the match."

"Well if you put it like that." James gave a haughty sounding sniff before grinning widely. "Next year" he declared loudly.

"Right," agreed Sirius.

"We just need to keep on practising until we're so good they won't be able to refuse us places on the team."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed again, although from the expression on his face Severus did not think he was as disappointed as James was at not making the house team.

"Wouldn't it be great if we all made the House team?" asked Peter. Sirius and James exchanged a smirk and looked like they were trying not to laugh at the thought of Peter making it to the team.

Severus did not try to stop his laughter though and snickered loud enough to draw their attention to him.

"Something funny _Snivellus_?" Sirius casually asked as he looked up to see Severus watching them from the staircase above them.

"N-no," Severus stuttered in surprise at being caught listening.

"Then why don't you go away, you nosy little git?" Sirius asked with an expression of bored dislike on his face.

"Wouldn't want to hang 'round here with that arrogant idiot anyway" hissed Severus as he carried on down the stairs and headed in the direction of the Transfiguration classroom.

"Who you calling arrogant?" James called after him.

"You," replied Severus, turning back briefly when he judged himself to be a safe distance away. "A first year thinking he can get on the Quidditch team? Arrogant!"

Turning to walk away again Severus did not miss the look of anger on James's face but for once James could not find the words to respond. Sirius on the other hand had one last parting shot.

"At least we can do something for the team other than grease the equipment," he called down the corridor.

Severus considered turning back to respond, but a glimpse of the red hair of Lily Evans coming towards him as she went to join the other Gryffindors made him pause.

Ignoring Sirius he carried on walking.

"Morning Lily," he smiled at her as she drew nearer. He wondered if she had heard Sirius's comment.

"Good morning," she beamed in return. Her next words confirmed that she had indeed heard Sirius. Patting Severus on the arm she whispered, "That's it. Just ignore them. They'll soon get bored."

Grinning from ear to ear Lily hurried off towards her class, leaving Severus to bask in Lily's, rather undeserved, praise. He knew that if he had not seen her coming in his direction he would certainly have responded. But it had been worth the effort of keeping quiet to have Lily's approval.

* * *

The Slytherin v Gryffindor match was the first of the season and the following Saturday the whole school went out to the Quidditch pitch to see which of the two old rivals won the game.

Severus walked down to the Slytherin supporters' stand with the rest of the first years and took a place at the front of the stand. Across the other side of the pitch he could see the scarlet and gold of the Gryffindor supporters as they got ready to cheer their own team when they strode out onto the pitch. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff stands were also filled with students and from where he was seated Severus could just make out the occasion flash of scarlet and gold from their stands too. He frowned and looked closer; there was no silver and green in those stands even though there was plenty in the Slytherin stand. _Didn't any of the other houses support Slytherin when their own team wasn't playing?_

A roar around him signalled that the Slytherin team, lead by Lucius Malfoy, had walked out to the pitch. Severus clapped and cheered along with the rest of his house.

He recognised Rodolphus as he walked out carrying his broom in one hand and fist-punching the air with his other. A high-pitched cheer from behind him made Severus jump and he turned around to see Bellatrix waving her green and silver school scarf and cheering loudly with the rest of the Slytherins.

Although the noise around him was deafening Severus thought he could make out some boos from the other side of the stands and he frowned again as he strained to make out any other sounds from across the far side of the pitch.

Eventually the cheers died down. A minute later a second, much louder, roar echoed through the stands as the Gryffindor team walked out onto the pitch. Severus did not recognise any of the players on the opposite house team. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff stands cheered along with the Gryffindors. The stand around Severus was quiet for a moment before several loud boos sounded from behind him.

Madam Hooch called for quiet as she stalked onto the pitch and released the bludgers and the golden snitch. She threw the quaffle into the air and the game began at a fast and furious pace.

Lucius took control of the quaffle immediately and sped through the air as one of the Gryffindor beaters aimed a bludger in his direction. The Slytherin spectators called out a warning in unison but Lucius was a skilled player and had dived out of the way with ease before climbing again to throw the quaffle through the centre hoop to score the first points of the game.

Severus cheered with the rest of the team but there was no mistaking the sound of boos from the other house stands this time.

The match continued again and Gryffindor quickly took possession of the quaffle and had soon not only made up the lost points but had overtaken the Slytherin team by twenty more.

Severus looked up from the stands to where Lucius was trying to get the quaffle back with little success. He watched closely and caught the quick signal Lucius gave to Rodolpus who took the unspoken advice and made to aim the bludger coming in his direction at the Gryffindor chaser with possession of the quaffle. The bludger missed the chaser but she still lost her grip on the quaffle as she swerved to avoid the ball. Lucius was quick to step in and grab the ball before heading back down to the opposite end of the pitch where the Gryffindor keeper hovered with a determined look on his face.

Rodolphus was now heading in the same direction as Lucius to head off the other bludger which a Gryffindor beater had aimed in Lucius's direction. He was just in time and Lucius quickly scored another ten points to close the gap on the Gryffindors.

Severus held his breath as the game continued with neither team managing to score again and the quaffle repeatedly changing hands from one team to the other. As the afternoon stretched on the spectators began to get restless and the players began to slow down. The players were not as quick to move away from the bludgers and the Slytherin chasers missed some easy opportunities to score as they began to tire. Even though both teams were starting to tire it was clear to Severus that the Gryffindor team were not quite as effected by the lengthy match as the Slytherin team.

The Gryffindor team was keeping possession of the quaffle for far longer than the Slytherins and their seeker was speeding around the pitch in search of the snitch. The Slytherin seeker meanwhile was hovering just slightly off centre of the pitch as he looked about for the ball that would bring the team victory if he could catch it.

The Gryffindors had possession of the quaffle yet again and were flying quickly towards the goal posts in the hope of extending their lead.

Severus looked around to see if he could spot the Snitch but he could not find it. The Slytherin seeker also seemed to be having trouble finding the small golden ball. Severus continued to watch the players fly about the pitch. He saw Lucius nod in Rodolphus's direction and watched him give a sharp nod in return.

The next minute Rodolphus flew as fast as he could at one of the bludgers and took aim. Most of the spectators were watching the Gryffindor chasers at the opposite end of the pitch, but Severus knew instinctively that if he looked in that direction he would miss something important. Bellatrix had moved from her seat behind him and was now stood to his left. Like him, she was watching Rodolphus and not the action at the other end of the pitch.

Rodolphus's hit was powerful and the bludger went exactly where he had aimed it…straight towards the stands.

Cries of "bumphing" and "foul" resounded from all the stands except the Slytherin one. It seemed that more people were watching Rodolphus than Severus had realised.

Severus heard Madam Hooch's whistle sound as he watched the bludger as it hurtled down into the crowd.


	19. Lily & Veronica's Argument

**Part 19 – Lily & Veronica's Argument**

The Slytherin spectators stood watching in anticipation as the fast-thinking Ravenclaw spectators quickly moved out of the way of the oncoming bludger.

Madam Hooch flew towards the stand and, with the help of a couple of the reserve Gryffindor team members, she soon had the bludger under control.

The Slytherin, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff spectators strained to see what was happening in the Ravenclaw stand.

"Everyone remain in your seats," called out Madam Hooch as she spotted students leaving their stands and making their way to the Ravenclaw stand to see what was happening, and in the case of a few of the older students, to check their Ravenclaw girlfriends or boyfriends were all right.

"No one's been hurt. Everyone return to your seats," Madam Hooch shouted.

Severus watched the students who had walked onto the pitch head back to their seats and waited for the match to continue.

"Rodolphus shouldn't have done that," whispered Bella.

Severus nodded, "we aren't losing by so much we have to cheat."

Bella laughed in response as Severus looked at her in confusion. _He was agreeing with her so why was she laughing at him?_

"Oh Severus," Bella laughed. "I didn't mean he shouldn't have hit the ball into the stands. Just he shouldn't have hit it into that one."

"What do you mean?" asked Severus, now even more confused.

"The Ravenclaw students are the smartest in the school, he should know they will get out of the way in time. Now the Hufflepuffs…they would have just stood there waiting for someone to stop the bludger."

"You think he should have aimed to the Hufflepuff stand?" Severus asked in a shaky tone.

"Perhaps," replied Bella in a thoughtful tone.

"But someone could have been hurt." Severus looked at Bella as a small smile appeared on her face and stretched into a wide grin.

"The Gryffindor stand would have been best," Bella finally replied. "The brave Gryffindors running in fear would've been a sight to see. Or better still, the Gryffindors bravely standing there, waiting in the bludger's path."

For a moment Severus stood in shock as he saw the joy on Bella's face at the thought of the bludger doing damage to one or more of the students. Then he thought of the bludger aiming straight at James Potter as he stood frozen in fear. He began to smile in response to Bella who finally came out of her own pleasant thoughts to see the devious smirk on his face.

"You're learning Severus," she said, before turning back to the pitch where the match was getting under way again.

The rest the teams had enjoyed whilst the bludger had been contained had unfortunately not been enough for the Slytherin team. Although they moved a little faster, so did the Gryffindors. The Gryffindor seeker seemed to have found a new lease of life as he sped around the pitch in search of the golden snitch.

The Slytherin team had only made up twenty points when a roar of delight from the Gryffindor stand signalled that their seeker had caught the snitch. The whistle sounded to signal the end of the match and the Slytherin spectators sighed in disappointment as the team came down to the ground again, each looking as disappointed and furious as the next.

The Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs cheered loudly for the winners as the Slytherins turned back towards the school, leaving the joyful cries of the others behind them.

Severus returned to the school with the rest of the Slytherins and listened half-heartedly to Bella as she berated Rodolphus for his poor aim of the bludger at the stands.

Severus slowed his shuffling pace and watched as the others moved on ahead of him. Turning to look behind him he peeked unobtrusively through his long, dark hair to the crowd behind him. He thought he saw a flash of red hair that could have been Lily but he was too far away now to know for sure.

"You coming to the common room Severus?" called Martin from further up the path.

Severus turned and nodded in reply and continued to walk slowly up the path.

"Hurry up," called Martin as he hurried on ahead. "You don't want to be hanging around outside when the Gryffindor team catches up."

Severus slowed again and turned back to look down the path. Sure enough the team were being carried on the shoulders of other Gryffindors as they cheered and yelled in triumph. They were closer now and Severus could make out the tall, black-haired Sirius black and the scruffy-haired James Potter in the midst of the crowd of students. He knew the second they spotted him watching. Sirius's joyous grin transformed instantly to a devious smirk as he nudged James and nodded up the path. James' eyes lit up and a matching smirk appeared on his face. Severus looked at his two enemies in the crowd of Gryffindors and turned to hurry on to the common room. He thought he heard them laughing at his retreat but he could not tell for sure amongst the shouts and cheers of the others.

Ducking into the school, Severus hurried towards the dungeon common room and muttered the password that would allow him access.

Climbing through the door he could see the other Slytherins sat down in the crowded room, each of them wearing almost identical expressions of disappointment and frustration.

"Arrogant Gryffindors," announced Lucius from his usual place next to the fire. "They really want taking down a peg or two."

"Yeah," agreed a blonde girl who Severus recognised as Marjory, a fifth year prefect who was often in the Potions section of the library when he was in there.

"Where were you when they got the snitch?" Lucius asked the shame-faced seeker for the team who merely shrugged in response and shook his head.

"Should've hit the bludger at their seeker instead of the crowd," said Rodolphus with a sigh. Bella nodded in agreement from her seat next to him.

Severus listened to the others as he inched his way around the edge of the room towards his usual corner. He had almost reached his destination when he heard his name called.

"Severus, there you are." Lucius did not bother to raise his voice, he had the type of silky tones that even though they were quiet, they could still be heard across a crowded room.

Severus turned around to see that Lucius was beckoning him across the room. The other Slytherins looked at him and he started to feel uncomfortable under their attention. So much so that he almost missed what Lucius was asking him.

"…get some food for the team."

"What?" Severus asked in surprise. "But it's nearly time for dinner anyway."

"The team will eat here instead of in the Great Hall," explained Lucius. "Couldn't face those gloating Gryffindors over a meal just yet. Enough to make a person sick the way they're going to be bragging about their victory. Just go get something for the team will you?"

The rest of the team nodded in agreement and Severus sighed as he went back out of the common room and turned in the direction of the kitchens. He knew the route well by now. He had long ago lost count of the number of times he had been sent to fetch food for Lucius and his friends.

Passing through the entrance Severus soon realised that his timing could not have been worse. The Gryffindor team were just arriving in the building and their shouts echoed through the corridors. Severus stepped back out of sight to let them pass him by.

From within the shouts and cheers there was a voice that came through clearly and Severus held his breath as he made out Sirius Black's haughty tone.

"Come on Remus, it'll be a laugh and we have a few days to get organised".

"I don't know," Remus replied. Severus looked out of his hiding place towards the group of friends. From his vantage point he thought the Remus looked very uncomfortable.

"Lots of students have parties at school and it is about time we had one." Sirius was insistent as he slung one arm around Remus's shoulders and gestured wildly with the other as he described what he called the social event of the year.

"Why not later in the year?" asked Remus, "after we've all settled in a bit more."

"We've been here over two months," laughed James as he echoed Sirius's enthusiasm.

"I guess," replied Remus with a small sigh as his friends walked on ahead of him discussing their plans.

Severus watched them all pass from the shadows and wondered why Remus was so reluctant to have a party. Sirius was right for once, all the students had parties at one time or another.

Shaking his head slightly he stepped out of the shadows to carry on towards the kitchen when another voice he recognised drifted across the hall towards him. Stepping back again he watched as Lily and Veronica came through the doors, both flushed and grinning after the afternoon in the autumn sunlight, watching their team emerge victorious.

"Why did you have to invite _him_ to our group?" Veronica moaned. Severus wondered who it was she was talking about. He didn't know of anyone else being invited to join the group.

"He's my friend," argued Lily, in a tone that said she had had this conversation more than a few times before. "And I thought he might like to join us as he's always on his own."

"And why do you think that is?" Veronica snidely commented. Lily stopped walking and turned to face Veronica. From where he was standing Severus could make out Lily's fierce expression as she rounded on her friend.

"Maybe it's because everyone is as prejudiced as you?" Lily retorted.

"Or maybe it's because he's a nasty little creep just like James Potter says." Veronica was not giving an inch, but neither was Lily.

"James has had it in for Severus since their first day," Lily argued. On hearing his own name Severus leaned back against the wall and tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Haven't you ever asked why Lily?"

"No," Lily said through gritted teeth. "I know all I need to. James Potter is a bully…"

"And Severus Snape is a creep," interrupted Veronica.

"No he's not," countered Lily. "How would you feel if you were sorted into Slytherin and everyone was pushing you around just because of your house?"

"I thought you said he wanted to be in Slytherin?"

"Well…" Lily didn't seem to have an answer for that.

"He wanted to be placed in the house which is best known for the dark wizards it has produced over the years."

"So what?" Lily seemed to get her second wind. "It's not like he seems very happy in Slytherin."

"Good," stated Veronica.

"What do you really have against him Veronica?" asked Lily as she crossed her arms to wait for the answer.

"Well just look at him," Veronica replied.

"Looks aren't everything." Lily shook her head and turned to walk towards the stairs that lead to the Gryffindor common room.

"Well how about this?" Veronica called after her. "Instead of asking what I have against him, how about answering why you are so eager to champion him?"

"I don't, but he's my friend," said Lily. "And it's not like his other friends stuck up for him that day in class."

"That's because even the other Slytherins don't like him! Why don't you stop pitying him and throw him out the group once and for all. If you don't he'll be trailing after you like a puppy for the rest of the year."

Lily ignored Veronica's call and continued on to the stairs. Severus came out of the shadows again. He was shaking with anger as he looked at the two girls going up the stairs.

_Pity?_ Lily hadn't argued with Veronica's final comment. The only reason she was still friends with him was because she felt sorry for him and that's why she'd invited him into her group of new friends. She just felt sorry for him.

Severus moved in a daze towards the kitchens again as he wondered what he should do about what he had overheard.


	20. Advice from Hagrid

**Part 20 – Advice from Hagrid**

For the next few days Severus kept to himself and only spoke to the other students when they spoke to him first. Consequently he spent a lot of the time in silence. He hadn't realised until then how much he was left alone by the rest of his classmates, even those who were in Slytherin house. It seemed that the only time anyone spoke to him was when Lucius asked him to run errands round the school.

He hadn't spoken with Lily since he had overheard her conversation with Veronica. Other than a casual hello each day he made sure that he did not seek her out and when she tried to slip him a note as they left Herbology class on Thursday afternoon he pretended not to see and let the paper fall to the ground. Ducking his head he hurried after the other Slytherins as they headed back to the dungeon common room before dinner.

But Severus knew that he could not keep avoiding her for much longer. The last class of Friday afternoon was Defence Against the Dark Arts. The class had settled down into a regular routine where they started the week with theory classes and the last class of Friday was the practical. Although Severus had not continued to work with Lily and Veronica he knew that this week he would more than likely have to. Martin Avery was once again in the infirmary. The time Martin had inadvertently spilled a rather nasty potion all over his hands in the class directly before Defence Against the Dark Arts. So once again Severus realised he would be without a partner to work with and no doubt Lily would expect him to join her and Veronica.

Dragging his feet, Severus let the rest of the students go on ahead of him. He did not mean to be directly behind James and Sirius as they also walked to the classroom. But since he _was_ directly behind them he made the most of things by listening to them as they whispered about their plans for the party.

"Is Remus still not sure about it?" whispered James as he looked ahead to where Remus and Peter were walking further down the corridor, just out of earshot. Severus strained to hear what they were saying without being spotted.

"Yeah. Says he doesn't want to get into trouble his first year," replied Sirius.

"Best time to get into trouble," laughed James, "well before we have the OWLs and NEWTs to worry about."

"We can't leave him out of it though," said Sirius in a low tone.

"He'll come around to the idea by Sunday." James sounded very sure of himself as he nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, what's he going to do? Sit in the dorms whilst everyone else is having a party?"

"Exactly," declared James. "We just have to make sure McGonagall doesn't find out about it."

"She won't, you're starting to sound as worried as Remus."

James laughed again as they finally reached the classroom. Severus inched his way past them and walked over to the other Slytherins as he tried to make it look as though he had been with them all along.

James and Sirius continued to whisper amongst themselves and Remus and Peter soon joined them as they waited for the room to be unlocked.

Severus was concentrating so hard on trying to hear what they were talking about he didn't notice Lily approaching him from where she had been leaning near the wall.

"Severus, there you are," she greeted him. "I've been trying to speak with you all week."

"You have?" Severus asked in a bored tone, mindful of the fact that Wilkes was standing right next to him, listening to every word. Lily's face betrayed her shock at his tone for only a moment. She shot a glance at Wilkes and then schooled her own expression into a matching look of boredom.

"Yes" Lily replied. "We've decided, that is Veronica, Dave and me, that you being in the study group isn't working out."

Severus listened to her words in a stunned silence. Never mind that his joining the group had caused him one problem after another. Never mind that he didn't want to be a part of the group when he was only asked out of pity. Never mind any of that. If he wasn't going to be in the group, then he wanted to be the one to leave – not be thrown out by the others.

Lily stood waiting for his response. Severus felt his throat closing up and he could not form a single word. He ducked his head so that his dark hair fell across his face and he blinked rapidly to prevent any tell-tale tears from betraying his hurt feelings. He'd been so sure that their friendship would last, and they hadn't even made it through the first term. When he felt he was composed he shrugged and turned away from Lily.

"Oh, one other thing," Lily said as she reached into her bag. "This is yours." Severus watched as she passed him a book that looked vaguely familiar. Talking it automatically he saw that it was the book he had been trying to get in the library on the day Sirius and James had pushed him into the restricted section. But it wasn't his.

When he finally found his voice to call after Lily and hand her the book back he realised that Professor Knott-Bolt had arrived and everyone was filing into the classroom and taking their places at their desks.

Sitting down at the desk on his own Severus once again tried to make himself unnoticeable as everyone split into pairs. Instead of looking around for someone to work with he toyed with the book Lily had passed him and pretended not to notice that everyone else was starting to work. He risked a glance to the front of the room and realised that Professor Knott-Bolt was just about to embarrass him again by asking for someone to work with him when there came a sharp knock on the classroom door and Professor McGonagall looked in.

"Sorry to interrupt your class Professor," she began as she walked across to the desk at the front of the room. "I need to speak with Remus Lupin."

"Quite alright, quite alright," Professor Knott-Bolt answered as he waved Remus over from where he was sitting next to Sirius.

"Remus dear. I'm afraid I have some bad news from home for you." Professor McGonagall steered him from the room as Severus wondered what the problem was. However that problem soon took a back seat to his own problem. For now that Remus had left the class for the day there was once again an even numbers of students.

Sirius picked up his books and parchment as he strolled across the room to the empty seat next to Severus.

"Looks like I'm working with you then, _Snivellus,_" he chuckled.

Severus sighed and shifted in his chair until he was facing the grinning Sirius Black. Looking about the room he saw that James and Peter were not even attempting to start work and they were instead avidly watching Sirius.

Severus gritted his teeth and silently begged for the time to go quickly.

By the end of the afternoon, Severus had experienced the worst Defence Against the Dark Arts class of the year. Angry and frustrated he had found himself making the simplest of mistakes and failing to manage even the most basic deflections.

At the end of the class Sirius actually had the nerve to clap him on the back and suggest they work together again. Between gales of laughter he explained that his performance had never looked so good as when highlighted by working with Severus.

Cringing and humiliated Severus gathered his belongings and hurried from the classroom.

Not wanting to go to the common room where Wilkes would no doubt relay the entire story to the rest of the Slytherins, Severus ran in the opposite direction and only stopped when he found himself approaching Hagrid's hut.

Severus slowed to a halt. He had not been back near the hut at all since the night of the duel and he shivered at the memory.

He was about to turn back when a loud bark sounded from the other side of the hut and a large brown dog came bounding round the corner.

Severus stood stock still as the brute barrelled into him and he fell to the floor.

"Get back there," Hagrid yelled as he easily pulled the dog off of Severus. The animal continued to run around in circles and bark loudly at everything as Hagrid helped Severus to his feet.

"What yer doin' round 'ere?" he asked as Severus muttered beneath his breath as he eyed the dog that looked like it might leap on him again at any moment.

"What's that?" asked Hagrid as he helped Severus pick up his papers.

"I just wanted a bit of quiet," answered Severus with a shrug.

"Not much chance of that with Brutus 'ere," Hagrid grinned. "Quiet!" he yelled at the dog and finally achieved the wanted result as the barking ceased. In spite of everything Severus grinned and Brutus wandered back in his direction as he waited to be petted.

"'e's me watchdog," said Hagrid proudly. Severus looked at the animal doubtfully as it licked his hand before running to the door of the hut.

"It's 'is teatime," explained Hagrid. "Yer want a drink before yer 'ead back?"

Severus wasn't thirsty but if it meant he didn't have to return to the main school right away he thought he might just drink the entire contents of the lake. Nodding, he followed Hagrid into the hut.

Hagrid busied himself with the crockery and the kettle whilst Severus openly stared around the small hut that Hagrid called home. It was messy and cramped and was little more than a hovel. Severus sat on the edge of one of the seats as he thought of his own home. He smiled at the thought of having a space of his own like Hagrid's hut and settled back on the seat. Brutus jumped up beside him after he'd finished eating and Hagrid walked over with two cups of hot tea.

"Yer all recovered now then?" asked Hagrid as he handed him a cup.

Severus nodded. "It was you that took me to the hospital wing wasn't it?" he asked.

"That's right."

"Thank you."

"Just doing me job," Hagrid replied modestly as he took a sip of tea. Severus did likewise although he found he did not like the taste. There was something a little odd about the flavour of the tea.

An awkward silence descended on the hut. Severus looked around again and wondered how long Hagrid had lived there.

"So did yer win the duel?" asked Hagrid.

"No," answered Severus shaking his head. A moment later he realised what he had said and clapped his hand over his mouth.

"Don't look so surprised," said Hagrid.

"But how…?"

"Even a bad storm like that couldn't get rid of all the evidence of a duel."

"Evidence?" Severus squeaked.

"Long strands of black 'air tangled in the pumpkin patch fer one thing."

Severus's hand flew up to his head in an automatic reaction to check if his hair was still in place. Hagrid watched the gesture and chuckled. Severus scowled in reply.

"Now, now, don't be upset," Hagrid lowered his tone. "I didn't tell no one."

"Are you going to?" Severus asked as he looked down at his feet where Brutus was now curled up and snoring.

"'Course not." Hagrid snorted. "Idle gossip never did no good."

"What about the teachers?" Severus asked.

"Figured yer were punished enough without 'em knowing about yer fight. Though I'll bet Dumbledore knows anyway." Hagrid nodded thoughtfully. Severus remembered his meeting with the headmaster after Madam Pomfrey had released him from the hospital wing and he had to agree that Hagrid was probably right.

"So, are yer gettin' on better now?" asked Hagrid in what Severus imagined a fatherly tone would sound like. His own father's voice was more often raised in anger than displaying fatherly concern.

Severus started to answer yes but realised that this time he couldn't lie and he shook his head as the tears he had been holding back all week finally fell. Before he knew it he had blurted out to Hagrid all about the problems with James and Sirius, Lily, the Slytherins and the whole sorry mess. When he had finished he sank back in the chair in horror at all he had said. After a minute or two had passed he looked up at Hagrid through the shield of hair he'd been hiding behind and waited.

"Well," Hagrid finally spoke. "Seems like yer got yerself in a bit of a pickle 'aven't yer?"

Severus nodded silently.

"Well, I don't 'ave the answer to all yer problems, but it seems to me like yer need to make yer mind up which friends are the most important to yer and stick with 'em."

"But who should I choose?" asked Severus. "I thought Lily was my friend but she just feels sorry for me, and Lucius only speaks to me when he wants a favour. As for Bella…."

"Only you can choose yer friends," advised Hagrid, shaking his head.

"What if I choose none of them?" asked Severus as he considered them all again.

"Everyone needs friends," said Hagrid as he stood up and looked out of the window where it was starting to get dark. Severus followed his gaze and realising that time was getting on he gathered his things together and stepping over Brutus he made a move to leave.

"Don't forget this," called Hagrid. Severus turned round to see that Hagrid was passing him the book that Lily had given to him before class. Turning back and taking the book he fumbled with his belongings and the book fell to the floor. As it lay on the wooden floor of the hut Severus noticed a small piece of parchment sticking out of it that he had not seen before. Pulling it out he was surprised to see his own name written on it in Lily's neat script.

Opening the note he read the contents quickly.

_Severus_

_I know you are trying not to get in trouble with the other Slytherins by speaking with me so I am sending you a note rather than talking to you. I think it would be best if they do not know you are still a part of the study group. I can see they are making your life difficult._

_We will be meeting in the library on Sunday as normal. _

_Please try to make it._

_Lily_

Severus looked at the note and realised that Lily had not thrown him out of the group. A shadow of a smile spread over his face.

"Good news is it?" asked Hagrid.

Severus nodded, although his stomach felt uneasy. He may still be a part of the group, and it was nice of Lily to try to help him sneak past the Slytherins like this, but it didn't change the fact that she pitied him.

Severus knew that he now had an excuse to leave the group but somehow he couldn't bring himself to follow through with it. His mind was made up. He would stay in the group for the moment. At the same time he would make sure that Lily saw him with other friends (he would figure out who later). He would show her that he was enjoying school (he'd better avoid Potter and Black) and having fun (without hexing Potter and Black). Somehow he would show her that he was not the type of person to be pitied. Maybe then their friendship would change back to how it had been before they'd come to Hogwarts.


	21. The New Recruit

**Part 21 – The New Recruit**

Sunday morning arrived along with another storm. The Slytherin common room was full of students who jostled for seats in front of the cavernous fireplace. The echo of thunder resounded around the room and tempers were becoming frayed as the students stayed in close quarters rather than going out into the grounds as they had done on the earlier, milder, weekends of the school year.

Severus was seated in his usual corner across the room from the fireplace. The wind howled and Severus soon realised why it was that the seat he had chosen was vacant so often. Shivering slightly he looked around to see if he could make out where the icy draft was coming from but he couldn't tell for sure.

Hunching down over his books he squinted at his hand written notes and tried to decipher his own minuscule script. Wishing he had written in a larger print he picked up his quill he tried to concentrate on remembering what Professor Binns had said in class so that he could finish his History of Magic essay. He was only a few paragraphs into the essay when the raised voice of Bellatrix Black echoed through the room in a volume that almost rivalled the clap of the thunder.

"It's not my fault!" she yelled as she jumped to her feet. The noisy common room was silenced instantly as every set of eyes in the room turned to the dark haired fifth year who was shouting at the bowed blond head of Lucius Malfoy.

"You say that a lot, don't you?" he asked in a quiet tone that still managed to carry throughout the room to the eager ears of the other students.

"What do you expect me to do about him?" Bellatrix hissed, her hands on her hips, as she towered over Lucius who was still seated on the sofa.

"He needs to decide, now. Go and convince him of the _preferred_ choice." Lucius turned away as he picked up his issue of the Daily Prophet and leisurely flicked through it.

"He _has _decided," responded Bellatrix. "He won't listen. He's not like the rest of us."

"He's a Black isn't he? He'll make the right choice in the end."

"You're not listening," Bellatrix answered, her voice rising again. "He might be a Black but he's not prepared to stand up with the rest of us. He's become friends with that Potter boy, and you know what sort of funny ideas that family has."

"So what you're saying," Lucius asked in a silky tone, "is that James Potter has more control over your cousin than you do? That Sirius will listen to someone like that, someone with no wizarding pride at all, rather than his own family?"

Bellatrix sat back down in her seat and nodded silently.

"First Andromeda showing a complete lack of interest, and now Sirius."

Bellatrix nodded again, a thoughtful expression on her face. She waited silently for Lucius to speak again.

"A pity," he finally said. "We could have used a lad like him. He's popular, influential…he would have been ideal for recruiting. A bit young now but when you plan ahead he is just the right age really. He could have brought a lot of the first years round to our way of thinking. He could have been right in the thick of things when He makes his move."

"There are others who could…" Bellatrix began.

"Like who?"

"Well, what about, say, Severus?"

Severus felt his face flush as he heard his name mentioned. He caught the quick glance that Bellatrix cast his way. Looking across at Lucius he saw clearly the look of scepticism on his face. He wasn't surprised, popular and influential were hardly words that could describe him.

Bellatrix also noticed Lucius's expression and leaned forward to press her case. Severus strained her hear what she was saying but now that she'd finished shouting most of the others in the room had lost interest in the argument. The general chatter grew louder and Severus could not make out any more of their conversation.

Turning back to his essay he tried to concentrate on notable wizards of the Middle Ages. Within minutes he felt his attention wandering again to the two heads bent in deep discussion on the sofa. The blond and black hair spilled down to shield their faces as they whispered their plans.

Some time later Severus had still failed to write even half a foot of his essay when the shadow of Lucius Malfoy fell across his desk. He looked up to see Bellatrix standing just behind him.

"Bella seems to think you could be useful," Lucius began as he sat down at the opposite side of the table. His tone betrayed quite clearly that he was not of the same opinion as Bellatrix. Severus waited in silence.

"Bella thinks you might be able to step into the position we had hoped Sirius would take."

"Position?" Severus questioned.

"We should have known Sirius wouldn't co-operate. He spends far too much time with Andromeda during the holidays. And he took up with the wrong sort right off when he arrived here."

"You mean muggle-borns?" Severus asked, Lily coming immediately to his mind, even though he knew that she was not the only one in the school and not remotely friendly with Sirius or James.

"Mudbloods," spat Lucius. "Infiltrating the school and the rest of the wizard community too."

"But not forever," interrupted Bellatrix with a look of anticipation on her face.

"Certainly not forever," agreed Lucius with a sly smile. "There's someone who's going to change things back to how they used to be. Get rid of the mudbloods and muggle lovers once and for all."

"Who?" asked Severus in a quiet tone. He had never seen Lucius in this type of mood before. He was clearly passionate in his hatred for anything that had to do with muggles and his conviction that things would change rang true with his every word. He wondered if Lucius knew his father was a muggle. Bellatrix knew but perhaps Lucius didn't…or maybe he knew but had forgotten?

Or maybe, Severus silently considered the older boy had somehow heard what his father was like.

"I can't tell you that yet," Lucius shook his head sadly. "You have to prove your loyalty first. We all had to. Right Bella?"

"Right," she replied as an expression of remembered pleasure spread across her pale face.

"Only when you've proved yourself can you meet Him." Lucius leaned forward and lowered his voice even more. Sitting only a few feet away Severus could still barely make out what Lucius was saying. "Until then you will receive his instructions through me."

"What sort of instructions?" asked Severus, curious in spite of the feeling of foreboding that he had descended upon him.

"Nothing for you to worry about at the moment. Are you interested in becoming part of the big picture?"

Severus looked across to Bellatrix who nodded almost imperceptibly. Severus turned back to Lucius and nodded his agreement. Even as he agreed to be a part of things he wondered what it was that he was to become a part of. He had nothing against the muggle-borns in the school and he wondered what he would be expected to do. He'd seen the reports in the Daily Prophet about the attacks on muggles and muggle-born wizards. They were becoming more and more frequent and although he knew that Lucius and the rest of the Slytherins applauded the perpetrators of the crimes he had felt a sick feeling in his stomach whenever he read about any of the attacks.

"What am I supposed to do?" asked Severus in a small voice.

"Good lad," Lucius grinned. "Not much for the moment. Just start asking around the other first years, particularly those in other houses, and find out which are open to the idea of changing things back to how they used to be. See if you can find out which ones are unhappy with the tainting of wizard blood. Just let me know of anyone who sounds like they might be interested. I'll take it from there. Okay?"

"Okay," agreed Severus. It didn't sound that hard a task. He would ask around and it might even help convince Lily that he had other friends and didn't need her pity. With a shock he realised that he had forgotten the time completely and the common room was now emptying out as the rest of the students went to the Great Hall for lunch. Lily and the others had been expecting him hours ago and he had altogether forgotten about the study group. Cursing under his breath he followed after Lucius and Bellatrix as they stepped out of the common room and headed down the corridor to the Great Hall.

They were amongst the last of the students to arrive in the Great Hall and looking across Severus saw Lily and Veronica talking animatedly at the Gryffindor table. Neither looked up as he entered and he shoved aside the feeling of disappointment as he sat down next to Lucius who gestured for Rodolphus Lestrange to move aside and make space for him.

Feeling truly welcome for the first time at the Slytherin table, Severus ate his lunch with a pleasure that was only dimmed slightly as he saw James, Sirius and Peter laughing loudly on the other side of the room. He recalled the party they had been planning and wondered if it was still going ahead. Remus had not been seen since the class on Friday.

Standing to leave Severus found that he was exiting the Hall at the same time as Sirius and James.

"Been practising your dark arts, _Snivellus_?" Sirius laughed. Severus reached for his wand and turned around to point it at Sirius.

"I'll practice on you any day," he hissed. Sirius and James just laughed again. Peter wandered up behind them and joined in with a peal of laughter of his own.

Sirius carried on past Severus and turned his back on him. James followed with a smirk.

"Aren't you going to hex him?" asked Peter in a disappointed voice.

"Not worth the effort today," replied Sirius in a bored tone.

"Yeah," agreed James. "Too much planning to do."

"For the party?" asked Severus in a quiet, sly tone.

"What do you know about that?" asked James as he turned back round. Sirius followed and they moved towards Severus who backed into the painting on the wall behind him.

"Watch it there," grumbled the elderly witch in the portrait. Severus turned to look up and mutter an apology. When he turned back all three of the friends had surrounded him and he had nowhere to move to.

"What do you know about a party?" James repeated as he reached into his robes for his wand.

"Enough to know that a word to Professor McGonagall would have you all in detention, or expelled." Severus gripped his own wand tighter but did not raise it.

"You wouldn't," said Peter, who sounded like he was worried that Severus would do just that.

"He can't tell anyway," said Sirius casually. "He doesn't know when it is."

"Yes I do," insisted Severus. "It's tonight."

James laughed lightly. "It was tonight but not any more."

"Postponed," nodded Sirius.

"Couldn't have it without Remus," said James.

"You put off the whole party just because Remus won't be able to make it?" Severus's tone was one of complete disbelief.

"Just because people would move parties to stop you being at them, doesn't mean everyone's like that. Remus is our friend and we wouldn't have a party without him." James looked to Sirius who nodded in agreement.

Severus could not think of a thing to say. As loath as he was to admit it, James was right. No one would alter the arrangements of a party to accommodate him.

"So you can go tell tales all you like," said Sirius. "If McGonagall comes to check on us we'll be snug in our beds and you'll just look stupid."

"Nothing new there then," chuckled Peter who looked ecstatic as James and Sirius smiled at his joke.

Turning away the three of them carried on down the corridor in the direction of the stairway that lead to the Gryffindor Tower. Severus stood where he was for a moment and watched them leave. The trio's laughter echoed back through the corridor to Severus and even the crack of the thunder overhead could not drown them out.

Severus looked back into the Great Hall where Lucius was still talking with the Lestrange brothers about the upcoming Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match. He didn't feel like joining them and moved on towards the common room. He imagined he could still hear the sound of James and Sirius laughing and for one brief moment he wondered what it would be like to be a part of that laughing group.

Stepping inside the common room again he saw that it was almost empty. The few students that were there hardly gave him a glance as he moved back to his table and his forgotten History of Magic essay.


	22. An Olive Branch

**Part 22 – An Olive Branch**

For the next two weeks Severus spent most of his spare time searching for students that Lucius might be interested in recruiting. By sitting down next to a group of Hufflepuff students in the library he gleaned as much information as he could about them as he worked on his own homework. By eating on the opposite side of the table at meal times he found that he could easily hear the discussions from the Ravenclaw table directly behind him. But despite the fact that he was eavesdropping on numerous student conversations he was disappointed to find that very few had muggles on their minds. In fact it seemed that the only ones who actually mentioned muggles at all were those who had one or both muggle parents, and Severus knew that they were the last people that Lucius wanted to hear about.

In the space of two weeks Severus had come across only two students who might be of interest to Lucius.

The first was a Hufflepuff girl named Melissa who had been discussing muggle medical practices in the library. Her mother was a healer who worked at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Melissa had received an owl that morning from her mother who was dismayed that certain staff at the hospital were starting to advocate muggle healing methods. Melissa was shocked by this news, mainly because she was hoping to go into the profession herself and was worried she would have to add Muggle Studies to her subjects the following year.

The second was a Ravenclaw boy named Gregory who had also received an owl from home. His father was a worker at the Ministry of Magic and he had been passed over for a job for someone who was a half-blood. Although Gregory had not been particularly critical of the person in question he was outraged on behalf of his father that his father's seniority had not secured him the post merely because the Ministry was attempting to even out the numbers of purebloods and half-bloods in top posts.

Severus had reported back to Lucius about both of the students. Lucius had smiled and clapped him on the shoulder before heading out of the common room to send an owl with the information to Him.

Now two weeks later Severus was once again in the library listening out for anything that might be of interest to Lucius. Unfortunately the Ravenclaw students next to him were engrossed in their books and the only discussions taking place revolved around their essays.

Severus looked across the room to where Lily and the rest of the study group were working. He had missed the meeting last week and this week Lily had watched as he came into the library with Bellatrix directly behind him. He had shrugged discreetly in her direction and Lily had merely smiled sympathetically and silently mouthed "next week" before turning back to her own books.

Severus moved his potions books aside as he re-read the last of his essays. His work was done for the weekend and he had no reason to continue to sit around the library. He was about to get up and leave when he heard a whispered voice from the group beside him.

"…married a muggle, she did."

"No!"

"Yes! Disowned and thrown out without a knut to her name."

Severus listened closely as he wondered whether the students at the side of him were disapproving of muggles or not. From their words it had been rather difficult to tell. Rummaging around in his bag he searched for something to do that would keep him in the library. Looking to his left instead of in the bag he was startled to feel something sharp against his hand. Cursing under his breath he looked into the bottom of his bag and saw stashed at the bottom, a set of pencils he had long forgotten about.

Pulling them out along with some sheets of unused parchment he tested the lead pencils with a few quick strokes across the page. Even though they were muggle in origin they worked fine on the magically made parchment.

Severus looked at his pet toad where it sat on the table and with a quick grin he sketched a likeness of the creature. Looking at the paper he couldn't believe he had not drawn anything that was not for schoolwork since he had arrived at Hogwarts.

He remembered when he had first realised he had a talent for drawing.

Unlike many wizard children Severus had not been schooled only at home before going to Hogwarts. Instead he had been taught both at home and in a muggle school at the insistence of his two sets of grandparents.

Severus's mother's parents, Millicent and Mortimer were two of the most talented people in the wizard world. Unfortunately they were also two of the most critical people in the world as well. They seemed to loath Tobias although they could rival even him with their complaining. They stopped by very infrequently, once, sometimes twice a year. It had been at their insistence that Severus had been taught about magic and the magical world at home. He still recalled his father arguing against it but he'd backed down in the face of his wife's parents. The fact that they'd had their wands raised at him at the time probably had something to do with it.

His other grandparents were, of course, muggles and Severus had soon realised that they were as different from his mother's parents as night was from day. The only thing the two sets of grandparents had in common was the infrequency of their visits and while Severus was not sorry to see less of his mother's parents he did regret seeing less of his father's. It was from his grandfather Jack that he had learnt to sketch and draw. It was the only skill he had that he knew was entirely unrelated to magic.

When Millicent Prince had looked at Severus's long, thin fingers she had commented that he had the hands of a potions master. By contrast when Jack Snape had looked at the same hands he had told him he had the hands of an artist or a musician.

Jack had soon seen the talent that his lonely young grandson possessed and had encouraged him with gifts of pencils, paints and artist's parchment. On their rare days out together Jack had taken him to see collections of portraits and had watched and listened as the enthusiastic boy had spoken of painting one himself one day. The only time his enthusiasm reached even greater heights was when the young boy had seen the bewitched portraits, that served to fuel his passion for art even more.

Now Severus sat in the library and looked at the pencils that had been a going to school gift from his grandfather. He was ashamed that he had so quickly forgotten about them.

The conversation at the other table forgotten he picked up another sheet of parchment and made a sketch of the library and the students as they worked away. His jerky movements relaxed as he sketched and he sat back as let his hand fly gracefully across the parchment. Biting his lip as he finished he resolved to send it to his grandfather by owl as soon as he could. Another wave of regret swept over him as he realised that by trying to forget everything outside of Hogwarts he had also forgotten his grandparents.

Pulling another page towards him his hand flew across the page as he sketched everything that came to his mind, owls in flight and the unicorns and wolves that were said to inhabit the Forbidden Forest that was just visible from the window.

He chewed the end of his pencil as he struggled over the drawing of a thestral. How to draw something you have never seen and only heard of…

"These are really good." The voice seemed to come from far away and Severus jumped, startled out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed Remus Lupin sit down opposite him. Severus reached across the table and snatched back the sketch of Rupert, his mother's owl, from where Remus was looking at it thoughtfully.

"No, really. They're great." Remus reached across again to the nearest paper. "Who taught you how to draw?"

Severus looked at the pale boy sitting across the table. He glared at him as he tried to see the trap he was sure was waiting for him. He looked around the room for James and Sirius but they were nowhere in sight.

"I'd really like to know," Remus asked again with a small smile as he pulled another of the drawings towards him.

"My grandpa," Severus finally answered with a small sigh as he reached across again to pull the pages back.

"You like wolves?" Remus asked as he saw the drawing of a mother wolf protecting her young cubs. Severus shrugged, but didn't make a comment. What business was it of his whether he liked wolves or any other animal? But the small feeling of pleasure at the praise for his work made him hold his tongue on this one occasion.

He flipped his pencil over and used the eraser on the end of it to rub out the wing of the thestral that he had just drawn.

"Hey Remus, there you are!" Severus frowned and pulled the drawings towards his bag as he cast a nervous glance to where James Potter stood in the doorway to the library.

"Shhhh," Madam Pince glared at the intruder to her quiet library.

James waved Remus over. Severus heard him whisper "see you around" as he left the table but he didn't answer him. He kept his eyes on the door until he saw him follow James back out of the room.

"What you hanging round with him for?" he heard James ask as the door swung shut behind them silencing the rest of their conversation.

The students that had been sitting next to him had long since gone and Severus gathered his things together. He quickly skimmed through the drawings and then double-checked them. There was one missing. The owls were there, his toad, the library, the unicorn and the half-finished thestral… He counted yet again and there was still one missing.

The mother wolf and the cubs was missing, Severus realised as he checked yet again. He searched his bag and the floor and chairs to see whether he had dropped it. It was nowhere in sight. He looked to the doorway. Remus must have taken it. But why would he steal one of his drawings?

He debated whether to go after him and get it back from him. If the other boy had been alone when he had left he might have done. But Severus had no intention of asking for his drawing back in front of James.

Picking up his things he sighed and headed out of the library to send an owl to his grandfather before he forgot again.


	23. Something in Common

**Part 23 – Something in Common **

The next day Severus was at breakfast when his grandfather's owl came flying in with a reply to his hastily written note of the previous afternoon.

_Dear Severus_

_Glad to see that you are still drawing. Hope you are settled in at Hogwarts and making lots of new friends. Sorry this is so short but your owl arrived just as your grandmother and I were about to leave for Africa. Will write more when we have arrived. It's going to be an extended trip and we won't be back until next year. Sorry we won't see you for Christmas this year. _

_Keep working hard and don't forget to write to your mother. She worries when she doesn't hear from you. _

_Will write again soon._

_Love from _

_Grandpa Jack_

Severus read the letter and felt his face fall back into its regular frown. Christmas with his father's parents was a tradition that was rarely forgotten. New Year was spent with his mother's parents but they were much stricter and were far more critical of him. Severus had also noticed an increasing tendency over the last few years of his mother's family to be critical of his father's family. He didn't know what was at the root of the animosity between the two sides of his family but he felt a keen disappointment that this year he would not see his favourite grandparents at all.

"Who's the owl from?" asked Bellatrix from across the table as the greedy bird nibbled at her breakfast. She shooed it out of the way with a frown and it moved on to beg scraps from Severus who, now he had read his letter, remembered to feed the bird.

"My grandpa," Severus answered absently as he fed the owl who was determined to clear the rest of his plate.

"Bad news?" asked Bella.

"Not really," said Severus with a sigh. "They're going away for Christmas and New Year so I won't see them, that's all".

"I hadn't heard Mortimer was going away," commented Lucius from further down the table.

Severus looked up to see him frowning at him. He hadn't realised that Lucius even knew the name of his mother's father. "My other grandfather," he explained.

"Oh, _that_ one," said Lucius with a faint sneer on his face. Bella's face twisted into a similar expression of disdain and Severus ducked his head and petted the owl to avoid their looks.

Tucking the letter into his robes he headed off to Madam Hooch's flying lessons. The Hufflepuff v Ravenclaw match of the previous Saturday had given her renewed energy and she was determined to get the first years whipped into shape before too much longer.

A fine rain was falling outside. It was close to December and the last of the Quidditch matches was over for the year. Consequently the students were restless and no one really wanted to be outside in the rain when they could be discussing and planning for the holidays.

But Madam Hooch was having none of it and continued to put the first years through their paces with routine flying manoeuvres and throws and catches of the quaffle.

No matter that the holidays were approaching, there would be no slacking in her classes.

* * *

Unlike the other students Severus found that the weeks to the holidays did not drag on. Now that the favourite part of his holidays was cancelled he found that the weeks were flying past. He looked with envy on the students that were staying at school for the holidays.

In fact as far as Severus could see, the only student who seemed to be more dismayed than him at the approaching holidays was Sirius Black.

Severus was sitting in front of Sirius and James in Potions class the week before the holidays when he overheard a conversation that explained his strange reaction to the Christmas break.

"Mum and Dad are throwing a New Year party like they do every year," James announced as he added dragon scales to his potion. "You've got to come and see the fireworks they put on."

"Can't," mumbled Sirius, keeping his face averted as he sliced the roots on the table with a fervour he rarely showed in potions class.

"But everyone's going to be there," James argued.

"The Black family have a New Year bash every year too," said Sirius in a tone that made it sound like his family party was perhaps not the highlight of the year.

"Couldn't you floo over for an hour or two?" pushed James.

"I doubt it," Sirius scowled at the roots that were now too thin to use. He went to fetch some more from the store cabinet across the room.

"Can you get us some too?" called Remus with a sigh, as Peter scrambled on the floor for the roots he had just dropped.

Sirius came back to the table and deposited some roots on Remus's bench before turning to slice his own again.

"Everyone's going to be there," James insisted.

"The Black family won't be," Sirius muttered. James didn't seem to hear him but Severus, who was now listening intently did.

"There'll be live music too," James announced. "Not sure who yet but mum has contacts and always gets someone great."

"I won't be allowed to come over." Sirius forced the words through gritted teeth.

"Well can I come over to your house for an hour then?" James asked casually. Severus glanced behind him and saw Sirius's face blanche in horror.

"Okay, bad idea," James backtracked. "If you didn't want me there you only had to say."

"It's not that mate," whispered Sirius. "You've not met my family. They're…well…they…"

"What?" asked James curiously. Severus wondered how much Sirius had told James about the Black family. From the sound of it, not everything. James obviously knew what a lot of the members of the Black family were like. Bellatrix and Narcissa were well known in the school and not popular at all with the Gryffindor students.

"They're like _him,_" Sirius hissed with a nod in Severus's direction. Severus quickly turned back to his own potion as he continued to listen.

"Like _Snivelly?_" James snickered.

"Well not _exactly_ like him," Sirius amended. "They aren't cry babies for one thing. But they _are_ purebloods and they think that all other wizards should be too."

"Is _Snivellus_ a pureblood? I've never heard of the Snapes. Anyway Sirius, the Potters are as pureblood as the Blacks. Why can't you come over?"

"Because the Potters are very vocal in their campaigns for equal rights for muggle-born wizards. Something the Black family has been against since forever. They'll never willingly let me set foot in the house of a Potter. As for you coming over to us…" Sirius's voice trailed off and Severus caught a glimpse of him shaking his head. 

"That bad huh?" asked James. Sirius nodded.

"Doesn't sound like you're going to have much of a Christmas."

"Never do," Sirius joked with a flash of his usual humour returning.

"Well if you can, try and sneak out for a while."

"I'll try," agreed Sirius as he added the newly sliced roots to the potion and sat back to watch it simmer.

Severus returned to concentrating on his own potion, a thoughtful expression on his face. He wondered how many other students mistakenly believed him to be a pureblood just because he was in Slytherin. As he turned back to his work he pondered over Sirius's dilemma. He'd never thought he would have anything in common with Sirius Black but it seemed that he did after all. Neither of them was looking forward to returning home for the holidays, and both of them were longing to be with anyone but their parents for the season of goodwill.

He wondered for a moment where Sirius had got the idea that he was a pureblood before dismissing the thought from his mind. He didn't care what Sirius thought about him. Let him think what he wanted.


	24. Home for the Holidays

**Part 24 – Home for the Holidays**

Severus was one of the last students to step off of the Hogwart's Express after it had pulled in to Platform 9¾. He'd kept an eye out for Lily, hoping to travel back with her; hoping to steer their friendship back on course to how it had been when they had last travelled together on the Hogwart's Express.

Unfortunately he'd no sooner caught sight of her dark red hair at the far end of the Hogsmeade platform when he had found himself being steered onto the train by Bellatrix. So instead of enjoying the journey with Lily he'd found himself travelling back to London with Lucius and Bellatrix and the others who had been in the carriage on September 1st when Severus had been turned away from the compartment.

He sat quietly, waiting for an opportunity to slip from the compartment but none came. He consoled himself with the knowledge that once he was at home Lily would be nearby and neither her friends or the Slytherins would be around to thwart his plans to speak with her.

He didn't feel like joining in with the laughter and planning for the holidays of the rest of the students. Instead Severus sat in a corner and listened with half an ear as he watched the landscape change from rural and picturesque to the clutter of houses and eventually the familiar London skyline. As the train ate up the miles to their destination Severus felt a heaviness settle in his chest. He was nearly home again.

He'd received an owl from his mother yesterday but she had not said who was going to meet him. Maybe they were expecting him to make his own way home? Or maybe he could travel back with Lily? The thought brought a smile to his face before reality returned.

The others had rushed from the train leaving Severus behind as he made his excuses that he was searching for his toad who had wandered off. Knowing that the animal was safe and secure, Severus had pretended to search under the seats and eventually everyone else had left him to it. Once he was sure that everyone else had left he stepped off the train hoping that Lily was either slow to disembark herself or, better yet, waiting to speak with him.

He looked about the platform that was nearly deserted, everyone was eager to be home and out of the light snow shower that was now falling on King's Cross Station.

He saw Sirius Black struggling alone with his trunk. It didn't look like anyone had come to collect him. James's parents were hugging him near to the barrier that lead to the rest of the station. Severus couldn't hear what they were saying but he watched as the Potters looked over to Sirius and then waved him over to them. It seemed like Sirius was getting a ride home with the Potters.

Severus watched them go through the barrier along with a few other stragglers. There was no sign of either of his parents.

Picking up his trunk he dragged it towards the barrier.

"Severus!" a female voice called from behind him. Severus turned to see Lily Evans rushing towards him. His heart leapt as he realised that he hadn't missed her after all.

"I thought I'd missed you," she panted as she caught up with him. "Here" she thrust an envelope into his hand.

"What's this?" he asked. He had seen very little of Lily over the last month. He had only managed to make it to their study sessions once since Lucius had enlisted his help and Severus had felt rather uncomfortable there and was constantly looking over his shoulder for the Slytherins. He also thought he heard criticism in everything Veronica said to him, or to the others about him. His initial enthusiasm for the group had evaporated when he had heard them discussing him following the Slytherin Quidditch defeat.

"It's your Christmas card," said Lily. "Did you think I'd forgotten?"

"I was going to send you a card by owl," Severus said. He was anxious to assure her that he'd not forgotten her.

"That's okay," Lily laughed. "My parents still like the novelty of owls delivering the mail. They think it's quaint. You'll have to visit the muggle way if you come over during the holidays. We still aren't on the floo network yet."

"Okay," Severus answered. "I'm sure I'll be able to escape at some point during the holidays. Not sure when though."

"Well come over whenever you can." Lily smiled. "And Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Snape replied with a matching smile. He was sure now that their friendship would soon be back to normal.

He watched as Lily hurried over to the barrier where her parents had come through to find their seemingly missing daughter.

Severus watched them greet each other and head through the barrier. Lily gave a last wave as they disappeared.

Picking up his trunk again he walked through the barrier himself to find his mother at the opposite side wringing her hands with a look of worry etched over her face.

Eileen Snape had come alone to greet her only son at King's Cross. The straight-backed proud young woman now stood with a dejected air about her. Over the years she had become an expert in avoiding attention.

Severus knew the second that she had spotted him, and watched as her normally sour face lit up and she rushed over to envelope him in a hug. She was more pleased to see him than he would have expected and he stood stiffly, unsure how to respond.

He barely heard a word she said as she grabbed the other handle to his trunk and together they struggled to drag it to the waiting taxi. Eileen explained that they'd be staying overnight in London before travelling home by train and taxi the following day. He didn't need to ask why they were travelling as muggles…he knew that his mother was no more eager to return home than he was.

The following day Severus sat beside his mother on train and watched the bustling city around them slowly disappear as they travelled northwards. All too soon they in a taxi that was winding its way through the familiar labyrinth of roads that led to Spinners End. Throughout the journey his mother kept up a steady stream of chatter about the family and neighbours. He didn't listen to most of it; the people she spoke of were just faces to him. It wasn't like they were his friends.

The only time he gave her his undivided attention was when she had spoken of her husband's parents and their trip to Africa. They were going to be researching Native African practices in the wilderness. Unfortunately as muggles they could not floo or apparate there, even if there had been fireplaces where they were going and the apparation laws didn't make it illegal to travel to different countries by that method.

Severus understood the problems they would have had in coming back for Christmas. But that did not ease the disappointment he was still feeling.

All too soon they had pulled up in front of their terraced house. Severus drew a sharp breath as he saw his father standing at the window, watching for them, a look of fury on his face.

"Don't worry," whispered his mother. She patted his hand and turned to step out of the car.

Severus followed and moved to get his trunk from where the taxi driver was pulling it from the boot of the car. He glanced back at the window to see if his father was going to come to help them. He wasn't surprised to see that he hadn't moved from his spot in the living room.

Pulling the trunk behind him he felt his mother's arm come around his shoulders. He wasn't sure whether she was offering him support or whether she needed the same from him. Together they walked into the house where Tobias Snape stood waiting for them.

"What took you so long?" Tobias asked in a deceptively quiet tone of voice.

Severus looked at his mother who was edging towards the kitchen. "The train was delayed," he finally answered when it was clear that his mother was not going to speak.

"Nothing wrong with the country's trains," Tobias replied, "a fine service they provide."

"It was late," Severus repeated. "We'd have been back yesterday if you'd let us use the floo network."

He knew that his father was eager to champion muggle methods and services as often as he could; he didn't like that the magical community often had better methods and services of their own. They'd been on the floo network for as long as Severus could remember but only used it rarely. There was nothing Tobias disliked more than people popping in unannounced through the fireplace. If Tobias knew of a muggle way of doing something he preferred they use that, and for a quieter life Eileen and Severus complied with his wishes.

"Don't answer back," shouted Tobias as he walked forwards. Severus shrank backwards into the hallway.

"I'll put the kettle on," Eileen called as she scuttled into the relative safety of the kitchen.

Tobias ignored her as he advanced on Severus. "Teaching you to answer back at that school of yours are they?"

"N-n-n-no," Severus stammered.

"_Don't_ answer back!" yelled Tobias as he raised his arm. Severus flinched and moved to duck the anticipated blow. It glanced across his shoulder and he stumbled backwards. He felt the railings of the banister for the stairs behind him. Grabbing hold of the wooden railing he scrambled to his feet.

"Go to your room and unpack."

Severus didn't need telling twice and with renewed strength he dragged his trunk upstairs and into his room. Shutting the door behind him he pushed the trunk against the door and sat down on it. He leaned against the door and groaned. His shoulder was aching already and he could tell it would be bruised in the morning. He wondered whether to risk going down the hallway to the potions cabinet that his mother kept fully stocked but decided against it. The holidays had only just begun and it was only a bruised shoulder. If previous Christmases were anything to go by both he and his mother would need the potions before he returned to Hogwarts. No sense in wasting them on a bruised shoulder.


	25. Unexpected Guests

**Part 25 – Unexpected Guests**

Severus had hidden out in his room all evening, unwilling to venture downstairs where his father continued to shout, venting his fury on Eileen who had now become the focus of his anger.

Severus unpacked his trunk and stretched out on his bed listening for the sound of the door slamming, the familiar sound that would signal it was safe to leave his room.

The minutes ticked by and he pulled his pencils and paints from their hiding place under a loose floor board to pass the time. Unfortunately he hadn't been able to concentrate long enough to draw anything. Twirling the pencil in his fingers he had chewed at the end for a while until he had finally given up and thrown them across the room.

He wondered why it was easy for him to slip away into his drawings at any time except when he most wanted to escape.

It was past midnight when Severus finally heard the bang of the front door. Pushing his trunk aside he opened the door and looked downstairs.

He could hear his mother sobbing in the living room and knowing it was now safe he ventured back down the stairs.

He looked around the living room and saw Eileen Snape was curled up in a thickly stuffed chair. She moved to wipe her eyes and attempted to force a smile to her face when she saw him standing there.

Severus walked over to the fireplace and bent down to pick up the broken Christmas ornament from the floor.

"_Reparo,_" commanded Eileen and the ornament sprang back together in Severus's hands. He placed it back on the mantle.

"Good as new," announced Eileen with another forced smile. Severus looked at the ornament that had already suffered the ravages of time before it had broken this evening but didn't comment.

"Has it been really bad the last few months?" Severus asked. He had shut his home from his mind for all the months he had been at Hogwarts but there was no shying away from it any longer. He was home again and he had to know what had happened.

"Don't you worry now," Eileen replied as she gave him a quick hug before hurrying back into the kitchen. Severus noticed that she was careful not to aggravate his aching shoulder.

"But has it?" Severus insisted.

"He was just worried about us," Eileen explained in a tone of voice that said she was trying to convince herself as much as him. "We _were_ late. Now let's hear no more about it."

Severus nodded in agreement. He did not need her to answer the question anyway. He could see the answer for himself. The dark circles under her eyes betrayed many sleepless nights and there were bruises on her right forearm that were several days old. He was sorry he hadn't written more often and resolved to send an owl once at week at the very least when he returned to school.

Sitting in the kitchen a short while later Severus sipped the hot tea and ate a late night snack whilst he let his mother fuss over him. She patted his hands every few moments and a watery smile played about her lips.

He knew he should have left well enough alone but before he went upstairs to bed he turned at the door to ask just one final question.

"Why do we let him treat us like that?"

Eileen shook her head as the tears started to fall again and Severus hesitated to go and comfort her.

"You go to bed Severus" she whispered as she gathered their plates and turned to the sink. Severus did not need telling again and he headed for the stairs.

* * *

The next morning Eileen woke Severus early and suggested they go shopping for presents in Diagon Alley.

Grabbing a handful of floo powder Severus stepped into the fireplace and called "Diagon Alley" to activate the spell that would speed him there. He knew his mother had never told his father about the muggle entrance to Diagon Alley. She'd long ago made Severus promise not to breathe a word about it either and as such it was one of the few places they were allowed to floo to without fear of retribution.

Stepping out of the fireplace at the other end he waited a moment for his mother to follow and brushing the dust from their clothes they wandered down the alley to the shops.

"So what would you like for Christmas?" asked Eileen as Severus looked in the cheerfully decorated windows.

"Whatever," Severus replied. "Anything will be good."

"But isn't there anything special you'd like?"

"I wouldn't mind an owl." Severus looked towards the store down the road where an assortment of owls were sitting outside of Eeylops Owl Emporium in the December sunshine.

"I don't know," Eileen hesitated. "We have Rupert already and your father doesn't much care for the mess. Besides you have a pet toad already."

"Okay," said Severus. He had known what the answer would be before he'd asked. He had heard the complaints about their owl numerous times and he knew that his father would not care that a toad was not the best choice of pet. He didn't even ask about a cat, his father insisted he was allergic to them although Severus had never seen him suffer any ill effects when a cat was in the vicinity. He'd only questioned the allergies once…

"Do you have many people to buy for?" Eileen asked.

"Just a few," Severus answered.

"What would they like?"

Severus shrugged. As much time as he had spent with them he hadn't a clue what to get Lucius or Bellatrix. Or even if they were expecting presents from him. He wondered if they'd sneer at his gifts which would be far less expensive than the luxuries they were used to. He brushed the uneasy thoughts aside and reflected that at least he could be assured that Lily would express delight at whatever it was he got for her. She had never turned her nose up at any of his Christmas or Birthday gifts no matter how poor he thought they were.

After a long time wandering through the stores Severus eventually found a book on Charms that he thought Lily might like and he paid for it out of his savings from Gringotts.

An hour later he still had no idea what to buy for Lucius or Bellatrix. He looked towards Knockturn Alley and considered what his chances were of persuading his mother to let him look down there for presents. With a wry grin at his own foolishness he knew that she would never let him wander down the most disreputable alley in London.

He eventually settled on a couple of rather unusual snake ornaments that could be used to store potions. After they were wrapped he added them the rest of their purchases and they headed for home.

* * *

Severus was relieved to get home again and after wrapping the presents and sending Rupert out to deliver Lily's first he helped his mother begin the baking for Christmas dinner.

"Why are we making so much?" he asked after a while as he considered that they were using far more ingredients than they needed, especially with his grandparents away in Africa.

"We're having guests tomorrow for Christmas dinner."

"Who?"

"My parents."

"They're coming for Christmas?" Severus asked, a note of fear in his voice. The Princes only visited very rarely, barely once a year and never during the holidays. The last time had been the day after he'd received his letter from Hogwarts and they had come over, apparently to ensure that Tobias would allow their grandson to attend the school.

"Yes, they're in the country this year and since your father's parents can't make it they've decided to spend the day with us."

Severus frowned. He didn't know whether it was intentional, but it sounded as though the Princes simply didn't want to come over on other holidays because they didn't want to spend time with the elderly Snapes. He thought back over the years and realised that he'd never actually seen his two sets of grandparents at the same time.

He wondered whether they had even met each other. Surely they'd been at his parents' wedding. He thought back to the last time he'd looked at the family photo album; he could picture his father's parents standing proudly by their son but try as he might he could not remember seeing any record of his mother's parents being there to celebrate their daughter's marriage.

He left his mother to her baking and wandered into the living room. Crouching on the floor he rummaged through the cupboard next to the fireplace until he found the photo album. He flicked through the pages until he found the ones from the wedding. Elaine and Tobias looked into the camera and wore radiant smiles that he'd never seen on their faces in his whole life. He checked each of the wedding photos twice before he came to the conclusion that his mother's parents had not been at the wedding, or at least they had not been in any of the pictures of the wedding party. He supposed they might have been off camera but he doubted it. The fact that every photo from the day was a muggle one and not one of them moved led him to believe that not only did his grandparents not attend their daughter's wedding, no one else from the magical community had either.

* * *

Christmas Day came quietly for the Snape household. There had been no more rows since Severus's homecoming, though that probably had much to do with the fact that Tobias Snape was frequently absent from the cottage.

Severus wandered downstairs shortly after 9am to find his mother waiting for him with a handful of presents. His father sat opposite reading the Daily Mail. He nodded a greeting in response to Severus's "Merry Christmas".

Seeing the parcel from Africa with the promised letter Severus put that one to the side to open later. Eileen looked at him questioningly before realising that he was merely saving the best for last.

Severus reached first of all for the present from his father. He had learnt several years ago that it was best to open that one first.

He worked his way through the presents one by one. He was surprised to find that his favourite was a gift forwarded from his mother's parents, a book that he'd seen in Diagon Alley and had wistfully looked at in Flourish and Blotts: _Animal Curses of the Middle Ages_. Severus grinned and began to flick through the pages, the rest of his presents momentarily forgotten.

"Well open the rest of them dear" Eileen pushed another present into his hands. Severus put the book to one side and began to peel the paper from the next present. He did not see his mother pick up his new book and rifle through the pages. He had just managed to peel the wrapping off of a new set of cauldrons from his mother when he heard her gasp. He turned to see her looking in horror at his new book.

"What is it?" he asked her, putting aside his cauldron set.

"This…this…" Eileen looked at the book as though the snake on the cover was alive.

"What's the problem?" Tobias asked putting down his paper.

"This book…" Eileen asked. "It's not suitable for a child of Severus's age."

Tobias leaned forward to look at the open page and frowned. "One of _those_ books," he muttered. "They all look the same to me."

"They're not all the same. T-t-this book…" Eileen stammered and faltered. Severus knew what she was struggling to explain just as certainly as he knew she was wasting her time. To his father, any book on magic was a bad book. It didn't matter what the contents were.

"Well you'd better speak with your parents about it, hadn't you?" Tobias sneered. "They're your family so you can sort it out when they get here."

Severus saw the smirk on his father's face as he anticipated the drama that would enfold that afternoon.

Eileen paled slightly before mumbling something about checking on the turkey. She hurried into the kitchen with Severus's new book clutched in her hands.

Tobias remained in his seat and picked up the paper once more. "Well carry on opening the rest."

As Severus reached for the next parcel, he noticed absently that his hands were shaking. A full blown fight had been averted but he didn't know how long for. He opened the rest of his presents quickly but all the joy was gone. Not even the set of paints from Grandpa Jack or the magical pencils that drew in whatever colour you wanted from Lily could brighten his mood. He wondered for a moment how she had known what to buy him before realising that Remus had probably told her about seeing him sketching.

The morning stretched on until at 11am prompt the doorbell rang and Severus walked down the hall to greet their guests.

He opened the door and felt his jaw drop at who he saw standing there.


	26. A Tense Christmas Dinner

**Part 26 – A Tense Christmas Dinner **

"I thought you had some big family gathering for Christmas?" Severus asked when he had finally found his tongue.

Lucius scowled from behind his father.

"Well are you going to leave us standing on the doorstep boy?" Mr Malfoy stood at well over six feet tall and was an imposing figure as he glared down at Severus.

Stammering slightly Severus stepped back from the doorway to allow the Malfoys to pass by.

Lucius followed behind, an expression of distaste on his face as he looked around the Snape house.

The last to enter was Lucius's mother who swept past as though she was entering a ballroom rather than the small hallway of a terraced house.

Severus wondered what it was that had brought them to his home for the day. Lucius had been bragging for a month about the grand Christmas dinner and all day events that were planned for the holidays. Severus had hung on every word he had said in the hope of being asked to attend, but no invitation had been forthcoming.

He was about to close the door and shut out the bitter December wind that was starting to pick up when a crackle in the air signalled someone was about to apparate in the vicinity. Severus looked up and down the quiet street in horror in case one of the muggle neighbours was watching for their own guests to arrive.

Thankfully no one seemed to be looking when Eileen's parents appeared in the street.

"What do you think you're doing?" called Mr Malfoy as he saw them appear from where he was hanging up his outdoor robes. "Apparating into a muggle street in broad daylight where anyone could see you."

Mortimer ignored him as he ducked his head to avoid the doorframe as he walked into the cottage. His wife Millicent followed.

"Do stand up straight Severus," she criticised as she passed by. Severus shut the door behind her and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Severus hung up the robes of his grandparents as everyone else filed into the living room. Once he had done he turned to join them before realising that there was no spare seats there.

"We'd invited the Malfoys for Christmas dinner," Mortimer explained to Eileen. "But as our plans changed unexpectedly we decided to extend your invitation to include them. We knew you wouldn't mind."

Severus looked to where his mother stood in the door to the kitchen, quite sure that she probably did mind. He could see that she was mentally calculating the number of guests and the amount food they had prepared. He saw her bite her lip as she came to the same conclusion he had reached. They didn't have enough to go around.

Eileen nodded to her father and crossed the room to where Tobias was standing near Severus. "Tobias, I think there may be a problem with dinner," she whispered.

"The food is your concern," he replied with a sneer.

"B-but I didn't know my parents were going to bring extra guests. I d-d-don't think we've prepared enough for everyone."

"You'll manage" Tobias laughed in a jovial manner. The guests nodded their agreement. Severus recognised the veiled threat in his father's voice and glanced sharply at his mother. He saw that she had recognised it too. He didn't know whether to wish the guests gone again or wish they would stay indefinitely. Either way he knew there would be trouble.

Severus hovered in the doorway for as long as he dared and then scuttled around the edge of the room and into the kitchen where his mother stood contemplating the dishes.

"Will any shops in Diagon Alley be open?" Severus asked quietly with a glance into the living room where Lucius's father was arguing with Mortimer about his indiscreet entrance. Eileen shook her head.

"What about a spell?" Severus suggested.

Eileen shook her head again. "There's no time to get permission to use a multiply spell. The Ministry doesn't allow them without a prior application."

Severus looked longingly at the dishes and felt his mouth begin to water. Even so he knew he had to make one last offer. "How about if I eat something else later?"

Eileen shook her head. "With so many extra guests your portions won't make a difference."

Severus went to the cupboards, pulled out the place mats and took them through to the small dining room at the back of the house. Setting the table with care he dragged out the job as long as he dared before heading back into the living room.

He saw his father sitting in one of the chairs and for once it was not his voice that was raised in anger. Instead he was watching Mortimer and Malfoy Senior with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Muggle-borns in the Ministry!" spat Mortimer. "Disgraceful. Shouldn't be allowed, should it Malfoy?"

Malfoy turned to him and shook his head. "It's a growing occurrence though. Lucius has been telling me there are more mudbloods at Hogwarts now than ever before."

Lucius nodded in agreement and a sly look came over his face before he spoke. "One of them seems to have taken a shine to Severus too."

Severus felt his face flush with embarrassment as the heads of everyone turned in his direction.

"Is that true, Severus?" asked Millicent with a frown. Severus stood speechless in horror.

"Well is it?" prompted Mortimer with a hint of impatience.

"Lily's her name isn't it?" Lucius answered with a vicious smirk at Severus. "Common little witch, skinny, red hair and hardly any magical talent at all."

"She _is_ talented!" shouted Severus, the fury at Lucius's lies finally loosening his tongue.

"Severus, why don't you come help me pour the drinks?" his mother called quietly from the kitchen. Severus turned away in relief and escaped back out of the living room. His hand was shaking as he picked up the bottle and went to fill the glasses.

"Is she nice?"

Severus turned to look at his mother. She was the one person to ask about Lily and actually look interested in what he had to say. He nodded once and sank down onto a stool near the stove, determined not to go back into the living room again. But it didn't stop the sounds of the conversation drifting through to him.

"…Mudbloods everywhere."

"Something's got to be done about it..."

"There is one who has a plan…"

"Who's that?"

"…an old Hogwart's student.…calls himself the Dark Lord.…he'll clean them all out once and for all."

"Be quiet you fool! You forget where we are…"

He listened intently to both the discussions taking place in the next room and also to Eileen's occasional gasps and sighs. Sitting by the warm stove he was perfectly placed to see his mother's tear stained face whenever she turned in his direction.

All too soon Severus's brief reprieve from his father and the guests was over and everyone crowded into the small dining room ready for dinner to be served.

The Malfoys had apparently exhausted the subject of the tainted blood in the wizard community and had thankfully moved onto the relatively safer subject of stocks and shares in the Potions Industry by the time Tobias stood up to carve the turkey.

They were half way through the main course when Mortimer turned to Malfoy and raised an eyebrow.

Malfoy looked a little hesitant but took his cue. "So Tobias, we hear you've done a bit of buying and selling in your day?"

Tobias nodded and replied in the affirmative.

"I might have a bit if business to send your way. Help to strengthen wizard-muggle relations, you know."

Severus looked at Lucius who appeared as surprised as he felt. Since when did the Malfoys care anything about muggles, or their relationship with them?

Severus looked at his father who looked equally sceptical.

"What sort of business?" Tobias finally asked.

"Just selling a few things," Malfoy said, brushing the question aside as if it was of no importance.

"Don't know. I don't have as many contacts as I used to. And it's not no weird stuff is it?"

"No, nothing like that," Malfoy assured him. "But you might know someone…?"

"Well I may know a couple of blokes that might be open to a bit of business."

"So I take it you will inquire immediately." It was a statement more than a question and Malfoy did not wait for Tobias to answer before turning to serve himself and his family large portions of vegetables.

Severus sat between his grandmother and his mother and waited until last to be served. Although his mother had indicated he would not have to miss his dinner to serve the others there was barely enough left to call it a meal. Not wanting to finish eating so much earlier than everyone else Severus pushed the last of his food around his plate as he listened to the conversation around him.

"Stop playing with your food Severus," Millicent ordered when she saw that he had barely touched his plate.

Severus swallowed the final forkful of vegetables and waited until the attention was once again focused elsewhere before whispering his request to leave the table to his mother whose plate was the only one even more empty than his own.

Eileen nodded and Severus pushed his chair back as quietly as he could. Unfortunately the creak of the floorboard gave away his movements and he hadn't made it to the door before his father spotted his early departure.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tobias called out in a pleasant but unnecessarily loud tone.

"I said it was okay," Eileen answered before Severus could respond.

"Was I talking to you?" Tobias asked through clenched teeth. No one at the table could fail to notice there was a problem. Eileen shook her head in silence.

Severus moved back to his seat and the meal resumed again.

"A firm hand, that's what's needed with boys. Magic or not, discipline's the key," Tobias declared to the table. Severus caught the nods of approval around him and ducked his head to avoid the accusatory gazes.

After what seemed like hours the dinner ended and the guests departed back to their own homes, Mortimer and Millicent at least agreeing to apparate from the back yard instead of the front this time.

Severus waited with his mother in the living room whilst his father had a quick word alone with the guests before they left.

Tobias came back into the house a few minutes later.

"Go to your room Severus," he ordered in a voice that brooked no argument. Severus nodded and headed for the stairs. This time however he did not go all the way to his room and instead sat on the stairs to listen. There had been so much said at dinner that had confused him. He knew instinctively there was trouble coming but he didn't know what. Listening in silence he waiting for his father's temper to be unleashed. He did not have to wait for long.

"How _dare_ you question my judgement in front of our guests!" Tobias's yell was punctuated with the sound of the smash of an ornament against the wall. Severus's reflexes made him jump even through he was not in the room.

"You better not show me up at the Black's house," Tobias continued.

"The Black's?" Eileen questioned.

"New Year at the Black's," Tobias announced. "Malfoy has invited us as his guests. Seems like you were wrong about most wizards not associating with muggles like me. He seemed quite eager to begin business with me. Perfectly pleasant bloke I thought."

Severus drew in a sharp breath at the thought of having to spend New Year in the same house as Sirius. And he'd thought Christmas was going to be bad…it looked like New Year was going to be worse.

It went quiet in the living room and Severus wondered what was happening.

"I don't know," Severus heard his mother speak in a tentative voice. "You don't think it might be a bad idea? The Malfoys are a very powerful family…so are the Blacks."

"Are you questioning my business dealings now?" Tobias boomed, and Severus edged up a stair or two so that he could make it back to his room that little bit faster if he had to.

"No, of course not."

"My business has nothing to do with you."

"I just worry. I don't want you to end up in Azkaban."

"They can't send me to no funny prison," Tobias laughed. "It's a wizard prison, not a muggle one."

"So you _do_ think there's something dangerous…something risky…about this deal?" Severus heard his mother ask in a pleading tone.

"There's no risk at all," Tobias argued.

"You don't know that! You don't know what they're like…what they're capable of…" Severus listened to his mother in amazed horror. He had never heard her argue with their father as much as she had in the last few minutes. He didn't have to wait long before hearing his father's reaction. A crack sounded before a loud thud. Severus ran up the stairs as his father came out of the living room and headed out the front door.

Running down the stairs as soon as it was safe Severus rushed into the living room.

Eileen sat on the floor dabbing at her cut lip with the edge of her apron.

"He's really mad this time isn't he?" Severus asked as he sank down onto the floor beside her. His mother nodded and pulled him towards her with her free arm.

Once again Severus made sure that he was at least pretending to be asleep when Tobias Snape returned home.

* * *

The next morning Severus woke up, washed and dressed, and took as long as he dared before heading downstairs.

The house was spotless again and he listened carefully in the hallway for sounds of a fight.

It all seemed quiet enough so he went through to the kitchen where his mother had left a note explaining she had flooed over to Diagon Alley to restock the larder.

With his father nowhere in sight Severus headed back up to his room to read some of his new book. He wondered curious as to what was in it that his mother had not liked him to see.

It wasn't long before he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Anyone home?" Severus heard his father call out. Getting up from where he was sat at his desk he wandered out into the hallway to make his presence known.

"Looks like no one's here," another voice answered. Severus did not recognise the voice, or the shaggy brown hair that was sticking out from underneath a grubby wizard's hat.

"Good," Tobias replied. "They must have gone shopping. Won't be back for an hour or two."

"Where do you want these?" the owner of the other voice asked.

"Though there, in the dining room for the moment. I'll get them put away before either of them get back."

Severus waited a moment until his father and the mysterious guest had left the hallway. Then creeping as quietly as he could he hurried down the stairs and grabbed his outdoor robes and ducked out of the front door.

Hurrying down the lane he only stopped when he saw a welcome bench on the pavement.

He sat down and wondered how long he should wait before he risked going back home. He wondered if he should have stayed in his room, but reasoned that if his father had heard him move about he would have wanted to know why he hadn't answered him when he came in. There was nothing he could do now but wait it out.

A light rain was starting to fall before he realised that for the first time since arriving home for the holidays he was not stuck in the house or under the watchful gazes of one or both of his parents.

He was surprised he'd not thought of it immediately. He'd go and visit Lily. She'd invited him after all. He'd be able to spend some time with her…sort out the problems they'd had so far at Hogwarts…and get things back to how they used to be.

As he hurried through the streets towards the area of town that Lily lived in. It wasn't far but the area was a different as could be from Spinners End. Terraced houses gave way to semi-detached houses, gardens and greenery became more frequent and the streets had a much brighter look to them…a look of care and good upkeeping.

He wondered what Lily's reaction would be when she opened the door to see him there. Would she be pleased to see him? Or would she regret having extended him the invitation?

However as it turned out it was not Lily who opened the door to him. Instead it was Petunia, scowling, sour-faced, and no more pleased to see him than she had ever been.

"It's Christmas not Halloween," she stated in a bored tone as she looked him up and down. As insults went it wasn't one of her best, but still it made him conscious of his clothes that were so out of place in the world that Lily and Petunia lived in.


	27. That Awful Boy

**Part 27 – That Awful Boy**

Severus stood on the step and glared at Petunia. He tried to think of a retort but none sprang to mind.

"If it's carol singers the mince pies are just done Petunia." Severus heard the gruff voice of Mr Evans from inside the house. His stomach growled loudly at the thought of mince pies. Petunia smirked knowingly.

"It's not carollers," Petunia called back. She didn't move away from the doorway and Severus shifted from one foot to the other. The light rain was now starting to get heavier.

"Well who is it?" called the voice again with just a touch of impatience.

"One of Lily's friends," she called back.

"Oh lovely," another voice, this one female, sounded from inside and the speaker came rushing into the hallway, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Severus!" Mrs Evans came to the door. "Well really Petunia, do let the boy in."

She shooed Petunia out of the way with a sigh and her daughter grudgingly moved aside. Severus stepped into the hallway and into the warmth of the Evans home.

"Lily said you might be coming over," said Mrs Evans as she steered Severus through into the living room. "Did you come here on your own?" She cast a glance out the window.

Severus nodded in reply.

"Your parents do know you're here?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Yes," Severus lied.

"Good," Mrs Evans said with a sigh of relief.

"Lily are you coming downstairs," called the green-eyed man who Severus knew was Lily's father. "You have a guest down here."

Mrs Evans directed Severus to a comfy looking sofa whilst Petunia wandered over to a chair in front of the television. He didn't miss the glare she shot him before she turned her back on him. Severus frowned slightly and wondered if Lily was still fighting with her sister or whether it was just his appearance that had caused such a reaction.

The sound of footsteps running down the stairs and the familiar voice prevented him from wondering for long though.

"Who is it?" asked Lily curiously. A second later she came into the room and saw for herself.

"Severus," she said in surprise. "I was starting to think you didn't want to visit."

"Hi Lily," he said in a small voice. "If it's a bad time…"

"No, it's great you're here," Lily trilled. "Can Severus stay for lunch mum?"

"Of course dear," Mrs Evans replied. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Mr Evans followed her out of the room with a smile at his daughter and Severus. Petunia stayed where she was in front of the television. Lily waited for her parents to leave the room before turning back to Severus.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone.

"Sure," he lied.

"You don't look okay?" Lily commented. "Aren't you enjoying the holidays?"

Severus shrugged.

"You're not a very good liar," Lily pressed.

"So I've been told," Severus said with a wry smile.

"So what's happened?"

Severus groaned once and before he knew it he had told Lily all about the latest arguments at home and his mother's worry, now his worry, that his father was mixed up in something that could put him in Azkaban.

"The wizard prison?" Lily asked curiously. "Can they send muggles there?"

"I don't know," Severus said. "Mum's worried so maybe they can."

"Can the Dementors hurt muggles?" Lily questioned.

Severus nodded. That much he did know.

Their conversation brought to mind the last time they'd talked about Azkaban and Dementors. They'd been down in the thicket by the river, talking about the magical world.

It had been the day Lily had asked him whether being a muggle-born made any difference.

It was the day he'd lied to her for the first time.

He frowned as he recalled that Lily now knew that not everything about the world he had introduced her to was as wonderful as it first appeared.

It was the perfect opportunity to bring up the topic once more, to try to explain why he'd lied to her…to sort things out. But before he could speak Mr Evans returned to the room and distracted him.

"Petunia, turn the telly off if you're not watching it."

"I am watching it," she argued.

"Since when did you take an interest in the news?" he lightly teased. "Well turn it off anyway and come through and help me set the table."

"But it's not my turn to set the table," Petunia whined. "It's _her_ turn." She pointed at Lily with a scowl.

"Lily has a guest," Mr Evans stood firm. "She'll take her turn later."

"But it's not fair," Petunia grumbled as she turned off the television and followed her father into the hallway.

Lily looked at Severus and rolled her eyes.

"Things not any better with her?" he asked.

Lily shook her head but graced him with a sad smile. He knew instinctively that by asking about the problems he'd gained her approval. He smiled back.

Petunia was a just a muggle, he didn't care if he had her approval or whether she liked him. But if asking after Petunia was what Lily wanted to hear he'd try to make the effort to do just that.

"Thanks for the bewitched pencils," Severus said in order to change the subject.

"You didn't have any already?" Lily asked. "I hoped not. Remus said he'd seen you drawing in the library so I thought you'd like them."

"They're great,"

"Did you bring any of your drawings?" Lily asked curiously.

"No," Severus shook his head.

"Oh well, maybe I can come over to your house and see them?"

Severus blanched and shook his head. Lily's eager smile vanished. "Maybe when we get back to school?" he offered instead.

They continued to chat throughout the morning, Lily assuring him that she loved her present, and Severus thought she had forgotten about the problems he had at home. It was only when they went through to the dining room for lunch that Lily brought up the topic again with a quiet reassurance that everything would work out okay. Listening to her earnest voice he started to believe she was right.

Lunch at the Evans' house was vastly different to dinner at the Snape residence.

Laughter at the table was both continuous and contagious. There were muggle crackers with paper hats and more than enough food to go around, even with their unexpected guest.

The only sour aspect at all was the petulant Petunia who continued to grumble about just about everything imaginable.

Severus noticed that Lily and her parents did not take much notice of Petunia's complaints and followed their example.

"So Severus," asked Mrs Evans. "What is your favourite subject at Hogwarts?"

Severus thought for a moment before answering. "Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Lily likes Charms don't you dear?" said Mrs Evans as she served everyone with second potions of vegetables.

"Charms and Potions…oh and Transfiguration," answered Lily, jumping up from the table. "Do you want to see what I've been practising?"

Severus nodded and Mr and Mrs Evans nodded their agreement. Petunia muttered "not especially" from across the table but no one took any notice of her comment.

Lily ran from the room to fetch her wand and returned a few minutes later. "Professor McGonagall said I could practice over the Christmas break as I'd nearly got it right" she explained.

Pulling a teacup off of the sideboard she placed it in the centre of the table and chewed her lip for a moment in concentration. When she was ready she spoke the incantation and pointed her wand at the teacup, which immediately transfigured into a medium sized brown rat.

"Well done Lily," said Mr Evans as his wife clapped with a delighted grin on her face. Severus nodded and added his praise.

Petunia however had been determined to ignore what Lily was doing and had instead been pointedly looking out of the glass patio doors. But curiosity seemed to overcome her and she turned around to see what it was her sister had accomplished.

Severus was still clapping his praise together with Lily's parents when Petunia let loose a long and piercing scream of horror and leapt back from the table. Her chair fell to the floor with a thud as she continued to scream and point at the now rather startled rat on the tablecloth.

"Petunia dear, calm down." Mrs Evans jumped up from her seat and moved to calm down her near hysterical elder daughter.

"Better turn it back Lily," said her father, although there was still a twinkle of pride in his eyes.

"It's unhygienic," Petunia sobbed once she had finished screaming. "Making a thing like that appear on the dinner table."

Lily turned the rat back into the teacup and returned to her seat. "Sorry Tuney. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Yes you did," Petunia yelled. "You did it on purpose. You know I'm scared of rodents."

"Now Petunia," cautioned their father. "You've never mentioned this fear before today."

Petunia began sobbing again as she realised that there wasn't any punishment for Lily forthcoming. Severus kept silent and wondered how Petunia would cope with some of the other aspects of the wizard world she had been so desperate to join. If her reaction to a relatively simple transfiguration spell were anything to go by, not very well at all.

Eventually Petunia calmed down and dessert was served. After lunch Severus and Lily continued to chat in the living room whilst Petunia escaped to her room. When the afternoon started to draw on and the winter sun dipped below the horizon Severus realised that he could not put off going home any longer.

Determined to see him home safely Mr Evans insisted that he drive Severus home.

"It's a pity we're not on the floo network yet," said Lily as she walked them to the door.

"My mother says they take a few weeks to process the applications" Severus explained. "My grandparents had to get reconnected when they moved and it took five weeks."

"But we applied in July" Lily explained.

"Maybe they lost the application" Severus suggested with a frown. "Perhaps you should get in touch with the Ministry Department that deals with the network."

"We have," interrupted Mr Evans. "The application has been sent in four times now and they've lost every single one."

"All of them?"

"So they say." Mr Evans sighed as they walked down the path. "I'm starting to wonder if they just don't want us to be on the network."

Severus shook his head in confusion. He, of all people, knew that there were campaigns to force the muggle-borns out of the community. But surely they wouldn't be so petty as to "lose" applications for joining the floo network to make their point?

All afternoon he'd done his best to work up the courage to speak with Lily about his lie. But one or the other of her parents was always present in the room with them and the topic just hadn't come up. He'd instead done his best to steer the conversation to anything that would bring a smile to his friend's face.

He wondered if he'd have another chance to speak with her before the holidays were over or whether they'd return to Hogwarts with her still none the wiser as to why he hadn't told her the truth. He felt their friendship was back to something like it had been before they'd been separated by the Sorting Hat…but he knew that only by clearing the air about why he'd lied would truly set things right again.

Turning to wave to Lily, Severus climbed into the passenger seat and wondered about the lost applications throughout the journey.

"You can drop me off here," Severus said quickly as they reached the turn off for Spinners End.

"You sure?" Mr Evans asked. "I can drop you at the door if you like."

"No. This is okay. It's not far."

"You take care then."

"I will. And thanks for having me for the day."

"You're welcome any time."

"I hope you get on the floo network soon."

"I'm sure we will. Another muggle family with a student at Hogwarts suggested I ask for a Mr Weasley at the Ministry. Said he's in a different department but sorted out a similar problem they had. We're going to contact him right after the holidays. By the next holidays you'll be about to floo over."

"That would be nice." Severus was glad that the problem seemed to be sorted out but he still wondered at the missing applications after he had said goodbye and wandered down the street.

Opening the door to the house as quietly as he could, Severus crept into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

"Severus is that you?" his mother called from the living room. Severus drew a deep breath and walked in to face the music.

"Oh thank goodness," she cried as she rushed over to pull him into a tight hug. "I've been so worried. Your father's out looking for you. Where've you been all day?"

"At a friend's," Severus felt a wave of guilt wash over him at causing his mother worry on top of everything else.

"We didn't know where you were," she sobbed in relief and sank onto the sofa pulling him down beside her as though she was afraid that if she let go of him he would vanish again.

"I'm sorry," Severus whispered. "I forgot to leave a note."

"Don't you ever do that again," she scolded as the tears continued to run down her face.

Hugging him again they both jumped at the sound of the front door opening.

"I can't find him anywhere," Tobias Snape called from the hallway. "Just wait 'til he gets home."

"I'm in here," Severus called. There was no sense in putting off the inevitable. He watched his father walk into the living room and nod to his mother. She stood up, gave him a quick hug and departed the room.

Severus stood up to face his father. He had never seen him so furious in all of his life. He braced himself and tried not to cry out as the pain of the first blow shot through his body.


	28. The Skull and the Snake

**Part 28 – The Skull and the Snake **

Later that night Severus was curled up on his bed in the only position he could find where no part of his body hurt. His parents remained downstairs for several hours before he heard the sound of the creaking stairs. The footsteps came closer to his door and he started to shake when he heard the door handle squeak as someone made to come into his room.

"Leave him be Eileen," he heard his father call.

"But…"

"He won't learn a thing if you go in there with your healing potions. The boy's got to learn his place."

"What about…?"

"You. Leave. Him. Be."

Severus listened as his mother moved away from the door. He wondered whether he could risk sneaking out to the potions cabinet after his father went to bed but soon decided against it. It was doubtful his father would be sleeping and he had to pass his parents' room to get to the bathroom where the potions were kept. Shifting slightly he tried to get comfortable but it was no use and he knew he would not be sleeping that night.

* * *

During the following days Severus was relieved to find that his father was rarely home. "Out on a bit of business" was all he would say when Eileen asked him where he was going. Severus didn't bother to ask. He didn't care where he was going so long as he wasn't in the house.

He'd have gone round to see Lily again but with his bruises so obviously visible his mother was keeping a closer eye on him than usual. He knew that he'd not be allowed 'out to play' until the bruises had faded.

New Year's Eve came around all too soon. Severus woke on the morning of the party with a feeling of dread. He felt that something big was going to happen at the Black household and he couldn't shake the growing feeling of foreboding that had descended on him as soon as he'd heard he was going to Sirius's house for New Year.

He was hiding out in his room colouring in one of his sketches a little after seven o'clock when he was summoned downstairs to leave by his mother. His father had arranged to see them off and then meet them there later, there was another 'bit of business' he had to deal with first. He explained that the person he'd be meeting shortly was a wizard who would ensure he got to London. He didn't say who it was, and neither Severus nor his mother asked.

"Severus!" called his mother. "Hurry up! We're leaving now."

Severus looked at his half-finished drawing of the view from his small window. Tucking the rolls of parchment into his robes together with his new pencils he hoped he would find somewhere away from the main throng at the party where he could finish the picture. He had no inclination to socialise with Sirius, and after Lucius's comments about Lily on Christmas Day he wasn't looking forward to seeing him again either.

Severus arrived in the living room just as his mother was flooing over to Grimmauld Place. He moved to follow her but was stopped by his father grabbing hold of his arm. He flinched at the pain of the still unhealed injuries. He hadn't dared take any potions and risk his father thinking his mother had given them to him.

"Don't you be showing me up tonight Severus," he warned.

Severus nodded and grabbed a handful of floo powder. Stepping into the fireplace he was relieved when the dizzying journey began and he could no longer see his father's face.

* * *

The Black house was crammed with people when Severus and his mother arrived. The Malfoys were already there and Mr Malfoy came forward to greet them and introduce them to his closest friends. He was surprised to see that several of the guests already knew his mother, though he couldn't recall them ever visiting Spinners End.

Severus was relieved to see that Lucius was busy dancing with Narcissa Black and hadn't even noticed his arrival.

Once they had done their obligatory tour of the house and met their hosts Severus casually moved away from his mother and tried to find somewhere quieter to wait out the party. A decision that was prompted by the arrival of his father.

"Great things, house elves," was the last thing he heard his father saying as Kreacher, the helpful Black family elf served them drinks. "Been looking at investing in one ourselves. Haven't we Eileen?"

Slipping out of the door Severus wondered how long it would be before anyone realised he was missing. Closing the door behind him he noticed the effect of the sound dampening spell on the room immediately as the sounds of laughter and music were silenced.

Looking around the now empty hallway he realised that the house was larger than it had first appeared to him. He wondered if there was a small quiet room somewhere and headed down the hall, checking the doors as he went. Unfortunately most of them were locked.

However he soon realised that whilst most of the guests had flooed over into the kitchen, now most of them had arrived the room was deserted. Sitting down at the large table he sipped the fruit punch Kreacher had forced into his hand fifteen minutes before and pulled out his rolls of parchment.

Within half an hour he had finished the scenic view and pulling out a second sheet of parchment he sat and wondered what to draw next. Idly twirling his pencil around his fingers the sound of the first of the evening's fireworks startled him and the pencil dropped to the floor and rolled into a corner near the larder. Severus watched as it rolled away and under the door.

Getting up from his chair he went over to see if the larder was unlocked. He didn't want to lose one of his Christmas gifts. Reaching for the handle he was relieved when the door swung open. Going into the larder he looked around the small, pokey room for his missing pencil. Seeing it at last he picked it up and turned to go back into the kitchen. He was just closing the larder door when he heard a familiar voice.

"Sirius? You there?"

Cautiously looking around the room, Severus at first couldn't see the speaker. Shifting slightly he then realised that James Potter was speaking through the fire and was waiting for Sirius to give him the all clear to come over. Severus drew back and waited a moment to see if Sirius was near.

"Sirius?" the voice called again. He knew he shouldn't do it. But his holidays had been so bad Severus felt an impulse to inflict some misery on his hated schoolmate whilst he had the chance.

"There's no one here but me," he said as he moved back into the kitchen and into James's line of sight.

"_Snivellus?_ Is that you?" James asked.

"It's _Severus,_" he hissed in response. He watched as James scanned the room as best he could from his vantage point. He then disappeared a moment before flooing through in person.

"There really is no one else here." James sounded surprised.

"No," Severus agreed, a little offended that James thought he'd lied. He didn't let it bother him too much though as he was about to live up to James's expectations.

"Do you know where Sirius is?" James asked as he moved towards the door and peeked out into the hallway.

"Down the hall there," Severus replied. "Last door on the left," he added as he directed James into the main room for the party. He knew that Sirius wasn't in there. He'd been keeping an eye open for him all evening but there had been no sign of him anywhere.

James headed out of the door quietly and Severus followed and stood in the doorway watching as James headed down the hall.

Creeping quietly James had almost reached the door of the party when a hiss came from upstairs.

"James, no!"

Severus turned to look up the stairs and spotted Sirius standing there, waving frantically at his friend. He wondered what sort of a holiday Sirius was having. In the dim light of the hallway he could not tell for sure but he thought he recognised the familiar sight of bruises on his enemy. It seemed that the Black family and the Snape family had a great deal in common when it came to raising their children. He tried to feel some degree of sympathy for Sirius but none was forthcoming as instead he remembered all their altercations at Hogwarts.

James meanwhile was glaring at Severus as he hurried away from the party and upstairs to where Sirius waited. "You'll pay for that!" he promised as he hurried out of sight.

Severus returned the glare with one of his own and turned back into the kitchen. He knew that sooner or later James would be sneaking back through so he gathered his belongings and headed out of the back door to sit on the stoop.

Confident that no one would disturb him there he began to draw. First he drew the scenery around the house and when he had exhausted that he began drawing animals again. He was just completing a realistic rendition of a snake when he heard the door behind him open quietly. "Don't mind me," said a low voice.

Severus turned to look behind him but the speaker was standing in the shadows of the house. All he could make out was a thin face but no real features were visible. He was dressed entirely in black and from the angle that Severus was sat at it looked as though there was merely a skull sitting within a cloak of darkness. A shiver went down his spine and the sense of foreboding deepened.

"Do carry on," the speaker said with a wave of his bony hand.

Turning away Severus searched through the parchments before realising that he had used all of the pieces he had brought with him during the last couple of hours. Looking for one of the least crowded pieces of paper he finally picked out the one of the snake and tapped it idly as he wondered what to draw next. Looking at the paper the only image that was coming into his mind was that of a skull and so he quickly drew that, trying to squeeze it onto the page. Erasing part of the snake did the trick and soon the picture was done. Severus scowled as he looked at it. Although it had not been intentional the drawing he had just finished gave the impression of the snake coming out of the mouth of the skull.

"You have talent," the voice from behind him said. "Can I have that one?"

"What for?" Severus asked. No one but his grandparents had ever asked for one of his pictures before.

"I find it…interesting," said the man as he moved forward. "May I?"

Severus looked at the drawing and realised that he would never want to show that particularly gruesome one to his grandfather. He didn't know who the stranger was but if he wanted his drawing he could have it. Handing it up to the man he watched as a cold smile came over the man's face.

"May I know the name of the artist?" he asked.

"Severus…Severus Snape" he replied in a whisper.

"Thank you Mr Snape. I believe we may well meet again some day. Maybe then you will share some of you other talents with me?"

Severus shrugged but was saved from answering by a voice from inside the house.

"Lord Voldemort. There you are. I have someone here who would very much like to meet you."

Lord Voldemort nodded goodbye to Severus before returning inside the house where Mr Malfoy was awaiting him.

Severus shivered again and wondered if he should risk sneaking home. He decided it wasn't worth it and since he was out of paper he tucked away his parchment and pencils and returned inside to the party too.

His father had not appeared to notice his absence. He stood deep in conversation with Mrs Black where they were debating the problems of raising troublesome boys. He thought he caught a sneer on the face of Sirius's mother every now and then when his father turned away. She didn't seem entirely happy with having Tobias Snape as a guest in her house. He wondered if the Malfoys had known what her reaction would be like when they'd invited the Snapes along and suspected they had.

Severus reflected that at least Mrs Black wasn't throwing his father out of the house and listened idly as she declared how proud she was of her younger son Regulus but seemed to despair of Sirius. Standing quietly he listened as his father classed himself as the same type of troublemaker as Sirius Black. He wanted to interrupt and say that he wasn't like Sirius, that he didn't even like him. But he couldn't bring himself to contradict his father.

Looking around for his mother he found her sitting in a quieter corner of the noisy room and settled down beside her. She did not appear to be enjoying the party any more than he was. In fact, as far as he could tell, she looked to be even more distressed than she'd been when she'd thought him missing. He wondered what had happened whilst he had been hiding outside.

Waiting out the evening together Eileen and Severus Snape watched their wizarding friends bring in the New Year. Severus felt his mother wrap her hand around his as the midnight chimes rang out.

"Happy New Year Severus," his mother said.

"Happy New Year mum," he replied.

"Take a good look at these people," she whispered into his ear as she hugged him in celebration. Severus wondered what she meant but glanced around the room.

"They're dangerous," she continued. "Please stay away from them if you can. Promise me."

Severus looked into the familiar eyes and saw a fear in them that was even greater than any time she had looked upon his father. He looked again at the crowded room. Something bad was happening. He could feel it. He could sense it. And looking at Lucius, Bellatrix and Narcissa as they waved to him he knew that it was already too late. He was right in the middle of it.


	29. The Mentor

**Part 29 – The Mentor**

It was a snowy winter morning the first day back at Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays.

Severus's mother had convinced his father that he should have some healing potions to help with his injuries before returning to school. Tobias had agreed that it would be for the best and consequently Severus was now fully recovered from his holidays.

Having done all his homework whilst hiding out in his room at home Severus found that he had little to do on the Sunday afternoon before lessons began again.

He had written letters to both his mother and his grandparents that morning and had borrowed school owls to deliver them. Wondering what to do for the rest of the day he headed out into the grounds and found himself wandering in the direction of Hagrid's hut.

Looking at the disturbed snow he realised before he even got to the hut that he was not the first visitor to see the gamekeeper that day. Four sets of student sized foot prints were clearly visible and heading directly for the hut.

Slowing his pace a little he got to the hut and raised his hand to knock and see if he would be welcome to join the party. He had not quite hit the door when he shivered at the sound of a familiar laugh from inside. Moving around the side of the hut he peered cautiously in the window. Sure enough, sitting around the table in Hagrid's hut were James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

Edging away from the window, Severus was about take the path back to the school when he heard the unmistakable sound of his own name being spoken. Moving back to the window again he crouched down on the damp ground to listen to what they were saying about him.

"I think my mother wanted me to make friends with him," he heard Sirius say in an astonished voice. . "On New Year's Day she barely shut up about how he was a model student and how proud his mother is of him."

"He sent me right to the main party room," James said. "He was deliberately trying to get us into trouble."

"Now, now," Hagrid's voice called from what seemed to be the other side of the room. "Yer don't know that."

"What do you mean Hagrid? He sent James to the party. We'd have been in so much trouble if I hadn't spotted him in time."

"Well James, did Severus know yer weren't supposed ter be there?" Hagrid asked reasonably.

"That's not the point. I asked where Sirius was and he sent me right into the lion's den."

"Did 'e know Sirius weren't in the main room then?"

"Er…"

"Um…"

"So 'e might 'ave thought Sirius were in the party?"

"I guess," James sounded reluctant to admit that he might have been wrong.

"You did say he was on his own in the kitchen when you flooed in mate," Sirius said in a voice that betrayed that he was disappointed at Hagrid's reasonable logic.

"So yer don't want ter be causing no trouble this term with no good reason," said Hagrid as Severus sat outside feeling rather guilty to hear the friendly gamekeeper standing up for him when he knew he didn't deserve it. He _had_ known that Sirius wasn't in the party with his family and guests just as he'd known what would happen if James had been caught.

"It's like I was saying," he heard Remus say. "You _do_ tend to think the worst about him all the time."

"Still doesn't change what he did last term though," Sirius declared.

"Yeah, that's right," James agreed.

"Yeah," Peter echoed.

"But yer don't want ter be getting into trouble now, do yer?" Hagrid advised.

Severus listened as the others sounded their agreement. He stood up and hurried back to the school. He no longer wished to see Hagrid and didn't know if he could look him in the eye again. He had done exactly what Sirius and James suspected and Hagrid had stood up for him and defended him, when he knew that he didn't deserve it at all.

* * *

Half an hour later Severus was still wandering around the corridors. He had avoided the Slytherin common room where he knew that Lucius was regaling everyone with stories about his holidays. He had noticed that morning that Lucius was careful not to mention his Christmas Day visit to the Snape household and instead spoke of the marvellous New Year festivities at the Black House. Severus didn't know whether to be hurt or relieved that he hadn't mentioned his visit.

He was still looking for something to do to pass the time when he found himself looking into the office of Professor Slughorn, the Potions Professor who was working alone over a steaming cauldron.

The multicoloured vapours of steam rose in the dungeon and Severus found himself inching his way into the room to see what it was that the Head of Slytherin was working on.

"Can I help you Severus?" Professor Slughorn asked in an absent minded manner as he continued to add ingredients to the cauldron.

"No Sir," Severus replied. "I was just…"

"Being nosy?" Professor Slughorn grinned. "Well come in and learn something if you've nothing else to do this fine afternoon."

Severus walked across the room and pulled up a stool. Leaning forward he looked into the simmering cauldron which was a strange shade of peach with streaks of yellow in it. It was a startling contrast to the green, blue and purple vapour that was still rising from it.

"What is it?" Severus asked.

"Well how about I tell you what I added to it, and you see if you can figure it out?"

"Is it something we're going to make this week?"

"No this is something you might get to make in your fourth year. But you seem to have a talent for potions, and I think you might be able to work out what this one is anyway."

Severus knew he looked doubtful but nodded his agreement to the informal test.

A few minutes later Severus knew most of the ingredients in the potion but still had no idea as to what it was.

"Maybe these will help you…?" Professor Slughorn said as he placed a jar on the table. Severus leaned forward to see what was in the jar and felt his stomach do an uneasy somersault. The seeds inside were the same as the ones he'd slipped into James and Peter's potion several months before.

"Is it some kind of cleaning potion?" Severus asked in a small voice, knowing that the seeds were a vital ingredient in many of the cleaning potions in the book he had looked in.

"You got it!" said a delighted Professor Slughorn. "Thought _you_ might figure it out with them."

Severus looked up at the Professor and squirmed on his seat.

"Don't look so worried. You're not in any trouble."

"I'm not?"

"Can't be taking points from my own students when Professor McGonagall went on that little frenzy of hers after the first Quidditch match of the year. Besides it was just a prank."

"But you failed them for something that wasn't their fault?" Severus questioned.

"They'd have failed anyway, Peter had added all ingredients in entirely the wrong order, something that is vitally important for the Bass potion, though not for the one you triggered with the seeds. Their voices would have gone higher instead of lower without the seeds."

"So it wasn't my fault they failed?"

"Well you didn't help them?" Professor Slughorn laughed.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Saw you in the grounds that day collecting them. Since I use that little patch myself for my own stores it wasn't hard to figure out when the potion took effect."

"Why didn't you say anything at the time?" Severus asked curiously. That class had taken place well before the first Quidditch match and he was astounded that he had not been in trouble at the time.

"Don't like taking points from my own house if I can help it," Professor Slughorn explained with a shrug. "So let's hear no more about it."

Severus nodded in relief.

"Well this batch seems about finished." Professor Slughorn leaned over the cauldron and dipped a dirty fork into it. Severus watched as it came out sparkling and clean.

"Is this what's used to clean all the school's cutlery?" he asked.

"No." Professor Slughorn shook his head. "This is for Madam Pomfrey to clean the infirmary with. It's a lot stronger than any other cleaning potion or spell and is used once a month to completely clean the hospital wing. Another three cauldrons will do the trick. You want to help with the next one?"

"Okay," Severus replied and stood up to go to the store cupboard for the ingredients required.

The afternoon passed quickly for Severus and by dinnertime they had completed all the cleaning potion required by Madam Pomfrey.

"You're a hard worker," praised Professor Slughorn as they cleaned the table and put away the excess ingredients. "Do you want to help me with the potions on a regular basis? Say, every Sunday afternoon if you've finished all your work for your other classes?"

Severus nodded his agreement. He was usually finishing off his extra work for the other classes on Sunday mornings, either with or without Lily and the rest of the study group. By Sunday afternoon he had little to do with his time other than hang out in the common room or the library. The idea of extra work was one that few students would relish, but for Severus it was a fine way to spend a few free hours.

"Good, good," said Professor Slughorn. "Now hurry along."

Severus nodded again and ducked out of the door, but not before Professor Slughorn called out "should keep you out of mischief too" and gave him a quick wink.


	30. Deeper Trouble

**Part 30 – Deeper Trouble**

For the next few weeks Severus found his Sundays to be the most pleasant times at the school since he had arrived in September. With the work load of the older students becoming heavier, Severus found it easy to slip away to meet Lily and her friends for the morning study group. Then after lunch he would make his way to Professor Slughorn's office and help out with mixing potions, taking an inventory of the school stores and occasionally going outside the castle to replenish the stocks of some of the ingredients that were found growing naturally in the school grounds.

After the shaky start before Christmas, Severus was now finally settling into life at Hogwarts and to make things even better he found that James Potter and his friends were no longer seeking to make his life a misery. Instead they were keeping their distance from him and leaving him out of their pranks.

They still called him _Snivellus_ whenever they had cause to speak to him though he was grateful it was not very often. He also knew that they were still pulling stunts on both students and teachers and their reputation as the greatest pranksters the school had ever known was practically sealed. But as long as they left him out of their hexes and spells he was not bothered what they were known as.

Severus was sitting in the Slytherin common room one Saturday morning at the end of January, struggling to finish his History of Magic essay which he had been labouring over since the evening before. The Slytherin versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match was that afternoon and it did not help his concentration that everyone in the room was busy discussing and arguing about tactics in an effort to ensure that there was no repeat performance of the match against the Gryffindor team.

The room only quietened when most of the occupants headed down to the Great Hall for lunch. Severus sighed in relief and carried on with his essay, hoping to have it finished in time to go watch the match.

"Severus," the silky voice of Lucius Malfoy echoed in the now almost empty common room. Severus looked up to see Lucius walking towards him and taking a seat opposite him at the table. "Been meaning to have a little chat with you."

"What about?" Severus asked cautiously. He knew he hadn't heard of any more students who were anti-muggles and suspected that Lucius was becoming impatient with him failing to come up with any names. He'd compared him unfavourably to Sirius the last time they'd spoken; the older boy was sure that Sirius Black would have been far more successful in the task than Severus had been. Expecting more criticism the next words from Lucius were something of a surprise.

"I hear you made a bit of an impression on the Dark Lord at the Blacks."

"The Dark Lord?" Severus asked in confusion. Severus frowned as he tried to put a face to the name. He had met so many people that night he could not recall them all, and he didn't think that he had made much of an impression on anyone.

"He said he met you outside," Lucius explained. "You were, um, drawing."

"Oh, you mean Lord Voldemort." Severus finally realised who it was that Lucius was talking about.

"Don't use his name," Lucius hissed. "Yes, the Dark Lord. He was speaking with my father after meeting you. My father said he was quite impressed with your vision."

Severus shrugged, more because he didn't know what to say than out of any type of modesty.

"I didn't know you could draw," Lucius commented as he sat back in his chair. "Let's see how good you are. Draw something now for me."

"Like what?" Severus asked, trying to hide his annoyance at the interruption to his completing his essay.

"Hmm. How about Narcissa, over there." Lucius pointed across the room to where Narcissa was seated on the sofa polishing her nails.

"Okay," Severus agreed. If he did this perhaps Lucius would leave him in peace for a while. Finding a piece of blank parchment he settled back with one of the magical pencils from Lily and began to sketch.

"Gold," he said firmly as he pictured Narcissa's golden hair. The pencil complied and he began to shade in her hair.

"Green," he requested again and the pencil changed so that he could shade in the green of the uniform.

"Where did you get the pencil?" Lucius asked casually.

"A Christmas present," Severus answered absently.

"Who from?" Lucius asked in a tone that this time tried a little to hard to be casual.

"My grandfather," Severus lied after a moment's hesitation. He glanced up at Lucius from beneath his long dark hair as he hung over the parchment. He couldn't tell if Lucius had believed his lie or not. Looking back down he finished the drawing as quickly as he could and passed the parchment across for Lucius to approve.

"A good likeness," he praised with a nod as he looked over Severus's handiwork before tucking the sketch into the pocket of his robe.

Severus shrugged again and turned back to his essay.

"I hear you've been spending time with Professor Slughorn on Sundays," Lucius suddenly said.

"Yes," Severus answered, curious as to the sudden change of subject. "How did you know?"

"I have my methods of finding out things," Lucius said vaguely with a wave of his hand. "It's beside the point. Thought you could do me a few favours since you'll be working with Slughorn."

"What sort of favours?" Severus frowned. He didn't like the sound of this.

"Just a few fetching and carrying favours. Thought you could get me some ingredients now and then for a project I'm working on."

"Why can't you get them yourself from the student stores?" Severus asked.

"What I need is Abyssinian shrivelfig. Slughorn has been keeping it in his private stores since that business with Filch being shrunk to the size of a mouse back in September. They still haven't figured out who managed to shrink him yet. Slughorn's taking no chances with some of the more potent ingredients these days."

"So why would he give me any?" Severus asked, _especially since the potions professor knew he was responsible for the rotting teeth incident. _

"I didn't mean for you to _ask_ for it." Lucius sighed impatiently. "You just have to acquire some whilst you're there."

"You mean _steal_ it?" Severus asked in shock.

"It's hardly stealing when my family has contributed so much money to the running of Hogwarts," said Lucius. "But if you don't think you're up to the task…"

"No," Severus interrupted. "I can get some tomorrow. I'm helping with the inventory anyway."

"Great," said Lucius as he stood up. "By the way. The Dark Lord said something about your vision being an inspiration for others. Do you know what he meant by that?"

"No," Severus shook his head puzzled.

"I guess we'll find out some time," Lucius said as he stepped out of the common room.

* * *

The next afternoon Severus found himself once again in Professor Slughorn's office. The potions professor was in a great mood following the Slytherin win on the Quidditch pitch the previous day. Severus listened as the professor recounted a play by play account of the match. He was tempted to tell the enthusiast that he had been at the match himself but he knew that the more distracted the professor was, the easier it would be to obtain the Abyssinian shrivelfig for Lucius.

"And then Malfoy scored again, to bring the Slytherin score high enough that even if Ravenclaw had caught the snitch they wouldn't have enough points to win." Professor Slughorn grinned in delight as he continued to tell Severus about Professor McGonagall's reaction to the outcome of the match.

"You have plenty of armadillo bile," Severus said as he looked at the jars.

"Better order some more of that though." Professor Slughorn grabbed a quill to make a note. "Going to have the fourth years making the wit-sharpening potion next week so it'll all be gone by then. How we doing on ginger root and scarab beetles?"

"Lots of ginger root," Severus said as he checked the cupboard. "But there are only a couple of beetles here."

"Right then, better order them too." Professor Slughorn noted the ingredients on the parchment.

"What next?" Severus asked.

"Let me check the lesson plans," Professor Slughorn said as he scratched his head. "Be right back." With that he left Severus alone in the storeroom.

Severus looked around and saw the Abyssinian shrivelfig on the second shelf. He hesitated a moment, still unsure whether to take any or not. Then he recalled all the times he had heard Lucius arguing and bossing the younger students around. He remembered his shouting at Bellatrix Black the first Monday of the year. He had never found himself on the receiving end of Lucius's temper and he felt sick to his stomach at the thought of having to face him and explain that he had not been able to obtain the ingredient for him.

"Now where did I put the second year plans?" Severus heard Professor Slughorn muttering in his office.

His hand shook slightly as he reached for the jar and quickly shoved some the contents into his pocket. Putting it back he had only seconds before Professor Slughorn came back into the storeroom.

"Got 'em," he announced. "Hair-raising potions. Hmm. How are we stocked on rat tails?"

"Loads of them," Severus answered.

"Good, good," Professor Slughorn said as he saw the healthy stock of them. "Now how about Abyssinian shrivelfig?"

Severus turned and pretended to look for the jar for a moment before commenting that the contents were a little low.

"That's funny," Professor Slughorn muttered. "Thought I had more than that. Oh well. Better order some more. And keep an eye open for shrunken caretakers."

Severus smiled. He had heard all about what had happened with Mr Filch. Unfortunately he had never seen one of the famous photos of Mrs Norris playing with her owner. As far as he knew they had all been confiscated he'd had the chance to see them.

* * *

Later that afternoon Severus found Lucius in the common room where he was talking quietly with Rabastan Lestrange and Narcissa.

On seeing Severus enter the room Lucius looked up and waved him over.

"You get any?" Lucius asked.

Severus nodded with a wary glance at the others.

"It's okay," Lucius confirmed. "Rab here has spent all week trying to get into Slughorn's office himself. Knew you'd come through for us, Severus."

"You mean he's…?" Rabastan asked with an unpleasant sneer.

"He's been working with Slughorn this afternoon," Lucius explained. "Since he was already in the office it was an ideal opportunity. Couldn't let it go to waste now could we?"

"But he's just a first year," Rabastan complained, shooting a look of venom at Severus. "You know I'd have got the ingredient eventually."

"Yes, _eventually,_" Lucius agreed. "But Severus has got it _now_."

Rabastan grumbled under his breath as he stood up and stalked out of the room with a final glare at Severus.

"Ignore him," Narcissa said. "He'll get over it and stop sulking soon."

Severus nodded and sat down in the now vacant seat. Reaching into his pocket he put the ingredients onto the table in front of him. Lucius quickly slid the same across the table with a look of triumph.

"Nice job, Severus," he said. "I'll let you know if I need anything else."

Severus nodded in agreement whilst silently hoping that he wouldn't have to steal anything else from the Potions Professor. He didn't care how Lucius tried to rationalise it, he knew it was stealing and he knew that it would be himself who was expelled if he was caught, and that Lucius's reputation would be entirely unblemished.


	31. Dark Times Coming

**Part 31 – Dark Times Coming **

Luckily for Severus he was not asked to steal any more items from the stores over the next few weeks. After the initial uneasiness had worn off he found that he was once again enjoying spending time with Professor Slughorn.

The only downside to his life was the tension he felt when he continued to sneak out to join Lily and the study group on the Sunday mornings. He still had no idea how it was that Lucius had found out about his weekly meetings with Professor Slughorn. He dreaded what would happen if he found out about his meetings with Lily. He knew that he would not be able to use the same excuse of ignorance now that they knew that he knew she was muggle-born.

It was a cold morning in early February when it was made very clear to Severus that the Slytherins meant what they said about their contempt and revulsion for the students that were not pureblood.

It was a Tuesday morning and like the other Slytherin first years Severus was enjoying his free class that always followed their night time astronomy lessons. His assignments were all done and he was pleased to be able to wander the grounds of the school, knowing that James and the other Gryffindors were in their transfiguration class with Ravenclaw.

The sound of a muffled scream came from across the grounds near to the lake. Severus stood listening for other sounds to try to establish where the noise had come from.

As his black eyes scanned the area he caught sight of movement in the edge of the trees and with only a moment of hesitation he hurried across the grass to see what was happening.

"Filthy little mudblood," the voice sneered from out of sight in the trees.

Severus tried to make out who it was but he wasn't too sure. He did know though that it was one of the Lestrange brothers. He was just not sure which of them it was.

"Just let me go back to class," the girl's voice cracked on a sob.

"You've no right to be at this school, or in our classes."

Severus moved quietly around the trees to see if he could tell who it was who was speaking. Careful not to tread on the scattered twigs or make his presence known, he finally inched his way around the edge of the trees. The profile of Rodolphus Lestrange was clear. He stood in the shaded area, carefully hidden from anyone at the school who might be looking out across the grounds.

Next to Rodolphus stood Bellatrix Black, her wand poised, casually pointing in the direction of the cornered Hufflepuff girl.

Rabastan stood at the other side of the girl blocking her exit completely.

Severus stood out of sight to see what was happening.

"I'm a witch, just like you," the girl spoke to Bellatrix, perhaps thinking that the female of the three might be more willing to take her side and call a halt to things. Severus realised that the Hufflepuff girl clearly didn't know the Black family.

"You're nothing like me," Bellatrix hissed as she stepped forward, her wand still raised. "The Blacks are one of the oldest pureblood families in the world. You are nothing more than a freak."

"I'm not a freak," the girl sobbed.

"You're a mudblood," Bellatrix continued in a cold tone. "It's the same thing. You've no more right to practice magic here than a muggle."

"W-w-what are you going to do to me?" the girl cried as she stepped back from Bellatrix's wand and stumbled over the root of a tree as she tried to keep out of the reach of Rabastan.

"Nothing," Rodolphus said, with a quick smirk at Bellatrix. "You're going to run away from school, tonight. We'll help you get to the gates."

"I can't run away," the girl cried. "My parents will make me come back anyway."

Bellatrix smirked back at Rodolphus before turning to the girl again. "Well perhaps we can work something out?" she suggested with a dangerously sweet smile.

Severus shrank back as he watched Bellatrix move towards the girl and put an arm around her shoulders. He recognised the look that Bellatrix had on her face, and it was not a pleasant friendly one. It was the look that told anyone who knew her that she had planned this from the start, and that the girl had played into her hands.

"If you want to stay at Hogwarts, you'll just have to learn your place," Bellatrix advised. "For instance, you should make sure to let the purebloods at your table eat first at meals. If a pureblood should ask you to do something, you should get right to it before you do anything else."

"H-how do I know who the p-purebloods are?" the girl asked.

"Let's just say any of the Slytherins for now, you can learn the rest later." Bellatrix nodded thoughtfully.

"That's all?" the girl asked, as Bellatrix guided her away from the others and back towards the school.

"For now," Bellatrix smiled.

Severus watched in silence as the four students moved out of his sight and earshot. He felt slightly ill with what he had witnessed. The three ganging up on one was far too reminiscent of James, Sirius and Peter turning on him.

As he walked back to the school he wondered briefly if Lily had had a similar run-in with Bellatrix. He suspected that she had although he doubted that she had given in so easily to any such demands.

He made a point to ask her when he next saw her. He could no longer talk himself into putting off the long overdue discussion with her.

That time came around that same afternoon when they were taking a short flying lesson.

Keeping hold of his broom, he still didn't trust James and the others not to tamper with it again, he walked over to where Lily stood laughing with Veronica.

"Meet me at Hagrid's after classes," he hissed before hurrying back to the other Slytherins.

"What was that about?" Martin asked with a frown in the direction of Lily.

"Just a message for her from Professor Slughorn," Severus said. In some instances he had found that it was useful to have his meetings with Professor Slughorn well known.

After classes were done Severus headed to Hagrid's hut and sat on the cold ground waiting for Lily to meet him. She arrived shortly after he did and frowned at him from above.

"What's this about, Severus?" she asked in concern. "Is something wrong?"

"You tell me," Severus replied. "I want to know what's gone off between you and Bellatrix Black."

"Nothing," Lily said as she turned to leave.

"You're lying," Severus hissed as he jumped to his feet and grabbed Lily's arm.

"So what if I am?" Lily replied, uncharacteristically hostile.

"We're supposed to be friends," Severus pointed out. "Tell me the truth!"

"The truth?" Lily shouted. "Like you told me the truth when I asked whether being muggle-born made any difference?"

Severus drew in a sharp breath. There was no going back now.

"I'm sorry," he started. "I didn't mean to…I just…"

"Lied," Lily finished for him as he stumbled over his words.

There was nothing he could say in response and he sank down onto the step of the hut.

Lily hesitated a moment before sitting down on the step of the hut. She looked behind her before belatedly asking if Hagrid was in.

"No, he's in Hogsmeade today," Severus assured her, pleased he had overheard Hagrid telling Dumbledore of his plans at breakfast that morning.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Lily asked in a quiet voice.

Severus frowned as he tried to come up with an explanation that wouldn't jeopardise their friendship any further than he already had.

"I thought you wanted to talk?" pressed Lily, as Severus remained silent.

"I did," Severus assured her quickly. "I mean I do…I don't know…"

"You don't know whether you want to talk to me?" Lily asked.

"No! I mean I don't know why I lied." Severus leaned back against the door. "You were worried and I didn't…"

His voice trailed off but Lily seemed to understand what he was unable to put into words. She nodded and a sad smile formed on her face as she looked at him. He sat in silence awaiting her judgement.

"How well do you know Bellatrix?" Lily asked. "You seem like you're friends."

"Not really," Severus replied. After seeing her in action that morning he wondered if he knew her at all.

"My parents are good people," Lily said.

"I know," Severus said. "They've always been nice to me."

"They love meeting my friends," Lily smiled. "They think it's great having a witch in the family. I don't know how to tell them that the wizard world isn't much better than the muggle one. That there are prejudices in this world and that me and my family are the ones who are treated like, like…"

"Mud?" Severus offered, then instantly regretted his choice of word.

Lily scowled. "Mudbloods. You obviously know the term."

"Yes," Severus whispered, unable to look Lily in the face.

"You're one of the few Slytherins I haven't heard use the word," Lily said with a sad smile. "They really do hate me. They hate all muggle-borns."

"I know," Severus nodded. "But what about Bellatrix? What's happened between you and her?"

"Nothing recently," Lily said, still obviously avoiding telling Severus the truth.

"Has she tried to order you around or suggest you leave Hogwarts?" Severus asked, already suspecting that he knew the answer.

"She even offered to help me leave," Lily replied with a bitter laugh. "I told her no and she cursed me."

"She what?" Severus looked at Lily in shock. He couldn't believe that Bellatrix was getting away with cursing one of the younger students.

"Just a small silencing curse," Lily answered. "She said it would teach me to guard my tongue for a while."

"Did you tell Professor McGonagall?" Severus asked, again knowing the answer already. Lily wasn't the type to run and tell tales. Her quick shake of the head confirmed this.

"Has she been bullying you all year?" Severus asked.

"On and off," Lily confirmed. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure?" Severus asked.

"Quite," Lily said with a determined nod.

"I can teach you some curses if you like," Severus suggested casually.

"No thanks," Lily replied, as she stood up and brushed off her robes. "There are other ways to solve problems without lowering myself to her level."

Severus couldn't help admiring Lily for her attitude. He knew that his first reaction was always to fight back and retaliate in kind. He realised now why Lily had reacted the way that she had to his feud with James and the others. He wondered if he could try to follow her example, but realistically he knew that although he was doing well at avoiding the Gryffindors, if they brought the fight to him again he would not be walking away with the quiet dignity that Lily had.

"Was that all you wanted to know?" Lily asked as she turned back to the school.

Severus nodded. "I'm sorry," he offered quietly.

"Accepted," Lily replied. "Just please don't lie to me again."

Severus nodded in silence as Lily started walking back to the school. He waited behind lost in thoughts for a while before heading back himself.

He was caught up in the middle of the pureblood, mudblood feud and he couldn't see how to get out of it. He wondered how bad things were going to get. The next day he knew just how bad.

Many of the students at Hogwarts had subscribed to the Daily Prophet, the paper being their link to the wizard world outside of Hogwarts.

The next morning at breakfast the owl post arrived with many carrying in the popular paper.

Severus had not subscribed himself but Evan Rosier who was seated next to him at the table had. As soon as the paper was unrolled the headline and accompanying picture grabbed the attention of Severus. Gasps from throughout the room told that others had seen the same front page at other tables.

Severus felt his stomach turn over as he looked closely at the paper.

**A SIGN OF MURDER**

The headline announced. Severus looked at the picture closely. Like many other photos in the wizard world it was moving slightly. This one however was not as obviously alive as pictures of people were. Instead there was just a trace of movement as a breeze rustled through the trees outside of the house that was pictured.

But it was not the house that had Severus's attention in it's suffocating grip. He didn't recognise the building or the street. What he did recognise was the image that shone above the house in the dark night sky.

A skull and snake glowed brightly for all to see. The snake was coming out of the mouth of the skull in an eerily close rendition of the picture he had sketched at the Black's New Year party.

He jumped up from the table in horror at what he was seeing and ran from the room to the boys' bathroom. Dashing to the sink he began to retch before finally sinking to the floor in a shaken heap.


	32. Eavesdropping Again

**Part 32 – Eavesdropping Again **

Several minutes passed before Severus felt well enough to stand up. He still felt shaky as he leaned over the sink to wash his mouth out. He looked into the mirror to see that his pale features were even whiter than usual and although the shock was starting to wear off he knew that he couldn't go back and eat breakfast, nor could he bring himself to face his classmates right now.

He ran cold water into the sink and splashed some more on his face. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned to leave the room. It was only then that he realised that he'd made a mistake.

In his rush to leave the Great Hall he had somehow got turned about and was now standing in the girls' bathroom instead of the boys. The furnishings were the same although it didn't look as clean as the boys' and some of the paint work was starting to look rather worn. Even so Severus didn't realise he was in the wrong room until he turned around and saw the ghost of a young girl glide out of one of the cubicles and rise up finally perch on one of the sinks.

Even though Hogwarts was full of ghosts, Severus jumped back in surprise at seeing an unknown one at such an embarrassing time. The girl had clearly been a Hogwart's student, although Severus could tell from some slight differences to her uniform that she hadn't been a recent pupil. With dark hair, worn in bunches and glasses she had a mousy, studious look about her. It was a look that her frown of annoyance only helped to complete.

"You're not meant to be in here," the ghost pointed out to him. "This is the girls' bathroom. You're going to get into loads of trouble."

She smiled slightly at the thought as she glided towards him.

"Who are you?" Severus asked, curious to know who would haunt a bathroom when there was the whole of Hogwart's School available to them, most of the rooms being far more pleasant than the one he was in.

"Typical," the ghost snapped. "I was ignored in life and now in death no one even remembers my name."

She gave a loud sniff as she glided on past him and back into one of the cubicles. Severus followed after her. He had just reached the door of the cubicle when he heard the sound of the bathroom door leading to the corridor opening. Quickly ducking into the cubicle he shut the door to hide until the room was empty again.

"You can't let her push you around," one of the girls who had entered the room said in a loud voice that had the tone of someone who had been repeating themselves for a considerable amount of time.

"Shhh Beth," the second girl hissed. "There might be someone in here."

"No one comes in here," Beth replied. "Everyone keeps out of here 'cos of Moaning Myrtle."

"Who's that?" the second girl asked. Severus realised as she continued to speak that it was the Hufflepuff girl who he had seen with Bellatrix and the others the previous day.

"She's a ghost of a student," Beth answered. She paused a moment before continuing. "Looks like she's not here at the moment. So come on Daisy, what happened yesterday that you won't tell us?"

Severus listened in silence as Daisy relayed the events he had witnessed the previous day to her friend. He noticed that Daisy was careful not to mention names as she told of what had happened, she only referred to the bullies as being in Slytherin House. He was no longer worried about Myrtle giving away the fact that he was there as he could see that she too was enthusiastically eavesdropping from her seat on the cistern.

"You've got to report her to Professor Sprout," Beth insisted once Daisy had finished speaking. "Or Dumbledore himself."

"I can't," Daisy sobbed. "She'll know I told and then it'll be even worse."

"I'll bet she's been pushing about a lot of the students. She won't know it's you who told," Beth pointed out reasonably. Severus chanced a quick look out of the cubicle door and saw that Beth was clearly an older student who had taken the youngster under her wing. She sounded fairly sensible though Severus wondered at the wisdom of getting on the wrong side of Bellatrix Black.

"What can Dumbledore do though?" Daisy asked with a sniff. "He can't see everything that goes on in the school."

"Not much gets past Dumbledore," Beth pointed out.

"I don't know," Daisy hesitated. "You saw the paper this morning didn't you?"

"You mean the murder?"

"Yes. Did you see who the victims were?"

"Muggles weren't they?" Beth sounded confused as though she could not see the connection.

"Muggles with a son who's a wizard," Daisy explained. "What if my parents are next?"

"There are hundreds of muggle-born witches and wizards," Beth sighed. "Just because a couple are killed doesn't mean they're being targeted. It might be a coincidence."

"But if it isn't…" Daisy hesitated. "If it isn't then everyone says the murderer was probably someone like the Slytherins. What if…?"

"I don't think any of the students here were out murdering people last night," Beth replied. "The Aurors are already looking for the killer. They'll catch him soon enough."

"I hope so," Daisy replied before giving one final loud sniff and after taking a deep breath she turned to wash her face before Beth led her back out into the corridor.

The last thing Severus heard as the door swung closed behind them was Beth once again urging Daisy to report the bullying to the Professors. A part of him hoped that she would report them but another part dreaded the possibility of Bellatrix being brought before Dumbledore but remaining in the school anyway. Life would be unbearable if that happened.

Opening the door Severus stepped out of the cubicle and moved towards the door, eager to get out of the bathroom before anyone else came in.

"It's starting again," Myrtle sighed dramatically.

"What's starting again?" Severus asked, curiosity again stopping his leaving the room.

"The bad things," Myrtle replied before turning to glide into one of the cubicles. Severus looked inside but saw nothing but the splash of water as Myrtle disappeared out of sight. He wondered what she had meant but didn't like the idea of waiting around for her to reappear.


	33. Another Meeting with Dumbledore

**Part 33 – Another Meeting with Dumbledore**

Severus stepped out into the corridor, leaving Moaning Myrtle alone in the dismal bathroom.

"Ah, Severus," the voice of Professor Dumbledore echoed down the corridor causing the boy to jump back, startled.

Severus looked to his right and saw Dumbledore appear as he stepped out of the shadows. Although he knew that the headmaster could not have known he was in the girls' bathroom, he had the unsettling feeling that he had been waiting patiently for him to emerge.

Severus looked down at his feet in guilty embarrassment. Professor Dumbledore gestured for Severus to follow him and lead him along the corridor until they reached his office.

"Dreadful news in the Daily Prophet this morning," Dumbledore began with a worried shake of his head. "I saw you were upset by the news."

Severus nodded dutifully and decided to hold his tongue.

"Understandable, understandable," Dumbledore nodded. "Did you notice who the victims were?"

"No," Severus shook his head. "I didn't notice their names."

"I meant did you notice they were muggles?"

"Yes, with a wizard son," Severus nodded, wondering where the conversation was going.

"Their son was a good student whilst he was here. He graduated two years ago. Works for the Ministry of Magic now. Doing quite well too. He was on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team for three years, a good Chaser he was."

Severus frowned as Dumbledore continued to reminisce about the old student who was now an orphan. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Dumbledore remained lost in his thoughts. He was just wondering if he should remind him that he was still there when the professor turned to him with a sad smile.

"These are troubled times ahead of us. Some of the students will be more affected by the events outside of Hogwarts than others. Those students who are muggle-born will be amongst those who will be most affected by the times ahead. You've met Lily Evans' parents haven't you?"

"Yes professor," Severus replied with a frown. He wondered how it was that Dumbledore knew he had met Lily's parents when even his own parents had no idea that he had.

"Lovely folk," Dumbledore said with a smile. "So proud of their daughter."

Severus nodded.

"Lily's a bright girl and very brave; a true Gryffindor. But she's going to need every friend she has over the coming months. You understand what I'm saying?"

Severus nodded again.

"It's going to be hard for her and for those who stand by her, no matter who they are."

Severus nodded as his stomach flipped. He didn't know whether to be grateful for the barely concealed warning or not; he knew that the Slytherins would not tolerate his remaining friends with Lily, they had made that clear before the murder.

"Any students with muggles in their family lines will be at risk. Only the pureblood wizards will escape the victimisation."

Severus nodded. Dumbledore wasn't telling him anything he didn't already know. As one of the few half-bloods in Slytherin he was well aware of the precarious position he was in.

"The Aurors are searching for the murderers and until they're caught things are going to be difficult for anyone with muggles in their family."

"Murderers?" Severus asked him surprise.

"Oh yes," Dumbledore nodded. "There's more than one person responsible for this atrocity. The Daily Prophet reporter believes differently but they are still trying to deny that this is a movement by an organised group. They're still hoping that it's the work of a single rogue wizard determined to expose our world to the muggles."

Severus remained silent, unsure whether the professor was expecting him to comment or not.

"The Ministry will need all the help it can get to bring these murderers to justice. They will need to follow up every clue, no matter how small, to ensure that every last wizard in this group is caught. Every little clue…"

Severus shifted in his seat again as Dumbledore's voice trailed off again. He wondered if he should tell him about the drawing he had done at the New Year Party, and about the wizard who had taken it from him and, it seemed, cast it into the night sky above the scene of a murder. Although he wished it was a coincidence he knew deep down that it wasn't and he knew instinctively that it would help the Ministry to know the name of the wizard who had been at the Black family's house on New Year's Eve.

He opened his mouth to speak but shut it again almost immediately. He didn't know exactly why he didn't want to tell the understanding headmaster what he knew, but he knew that a part of the reason he didn't want to say anything was because he was scared that his drawing would incriminate him in the murders too. Even though he hadn't been there, even though he had not known about it, even though he was just a student in his first year at Hogwarts, he was the one who had drawn the sign that was now associated with the murder of muggles.

"Well, I think that's about all," Dumbledore finally said. "You're already late for Transfiguration so you just run along to the kitchens and get something to eat. You didn't get much breakfast did you?"

"No Sir," Severus replied, jumping up from his seat, eager to be out of the office.

"I'll let Professor McGonagall know you were with me."

"Thank you."

"There's nothing troubling you is there?" asked Dumbledore, from where he remained seated at his desk.

"No, Sir," Severus repeated with a shake of his head.

"Well if you ever have something troubling you, feel free to come and talk to me."

Severus nodded as he edged towards the door.

"Oh, one more thing," Dumbledore said as he stood up and walked around the desk. "Would you mind sending this subscription renewal form with one of the school owls? My own owl is away on a long distance journey and not expected back for a few days and I would like to keep up with the Daily Prophet reports."

Severus nodded and took the subscription form that Professor Dumbledore held out for him.

Leaving the room with a sense of relief Severus hurried to the owlery.

He paused a moment before sending the owl he had chosen on its way and frowned at the remaining paper in his hand. Professor Dumbledore had carefully completed the renewal part of the form but the second form for new subscriptions was still blank. The tawny owl gave him a look of impatience as Severus looked at the form and decided to subscribe to the publication himself. Quickly detaching the part of the form he needed he took out his quill and completed the form. He then sent the owl on its way, secure in the knowledge that the next time there was bad news in the paper he could at least hide behind his own copy.

"What are you doing up here?"

Severus jumped, startled yet again. He turned round to see the familiar figure of Lucius Malfoy in the entrance to the owlery with a small package under his arm.

"You should be in class," Lucius continued.

"I was just sending an owl for Professor Dumbledore," Severus explained.

"Too good to send his own owls now, is he?" Lucius sneered.

Severus shrugged.

"You disappeared from the Great Hall rather abruptly this morning," Lucius commented as he looked around for his own owl with a frown.

Severus looked about for the Lucius's personal owl and quickly spotted it inching its way along the ledge away from Lucius. Severus bit his lip to hide his smile and continued to watch the bird from the corner of his eye.

"Lazy, good-for-nothing bird," Lucius muttered as he continued to search for the owl that was now hiding behind a rather overweight Long-Eared Owl.

"Why not use one of the school owls?" Severus asked as Lucius pushed aside a couple of birds, clearly frustrated by his lack of success.

"This is an important parcel. I'd rather not trust it to the school owls, not when I have my own owl that already knows where to go," Lucius stood back and looked down the ledge again and Severus could tell the second he spotted his owl.

Jumping back out of his way, Severus watched as Lucius stalked across the room and jostled aside the Long-Eared Owl to grab his own errant bird and attach the parcel to it. "You know where to go," he instructed the bird in a harsh tone. "And don't take all week about it this time either."

"So what were you sending for Dumbledore?" Lucius asked, his eyes narrowed, as though in anticipation of something interesting.

"Just his renewal form for the Daily Prophet," Severus replied before remembering that he really didn't want to remind Lucius about the paper.

"Yeah, what was all that about this morning when you ran out after seeing the paper?" Lucius moved towards the door in a casual manner that still had the effect of trapping Severus in the room until Lucius decided he would let him out.

Severus felt his palms begin to sweat and despite the cool breeze coming into the airy room he felt hot and panicky under the stern gaze of Lucius Malfoy.

"You recognised the sign didn't you?" Lucius continued. "The Dark Lord showed us your drawing on New Year's Day. That's what he meant about inspiring others. I didn't understand at the time."

Severus felt his stomach flip over as any idea of a wild coincidence went up in flames. He nodded dumbly.

"It certainly looked impressive," Lucius continued, oblivious to Severus's discomfort. "Excellent work that you can be proud of."

Severus shifted from one foot to the other as an idea flashed into his mind and he realised that he had the perfect excuse for leaving the room. "I rushed out to write a letter to my parents but didn't know whether to send it or not. I'm not sure they'd understand."

"Your mother should be proud of you for what you've contributed," Lucius assured him. "Go ahead and tell her. But better not mention it to anyone else without checking with me."

"Okay," Severus agreed with a nod. He was quite sure from what his mother had said at the Black household that she'd be nothing of the sort. "I'll send it later today, I left it in the common room and then got summoned by Dumbledore."

"What class are you missing from?"

"Transfiguration," Severus replied, not bothering to mention that Dumbledore would be speaking with Professor McGonagall about his absence.

"McGonagall's another muggle-loving professor," Lucius sneered. "Don't bother about going to her class this morning. Just send your letter and if anyone asks, tell them you're running an errand for me and I'll help you catch up if you missed anything important."

Severus nodded as Lucius stepped aside with a proud, if rather condescending, smile on his face.

Walking past him Severus hurried down the stairs from the owlery and headed towards the Slytherin common room. He was relieved that Lucius didn't follow him to the common room because he had no idea how he would answer any question about where the fictional letter was.

A short while later he looked at the blank sheet of parchment as he struggled to think of what to write. Although he had kept his word to Professor Dumbledore by writing to his mother, he didn't want to write to her about the events of the morning at all. Eventually giving up on the task, he decided that he would just say it was lost in delivery if the matter was ever brought up again. His excuse for leaving the Great Hall was solidly in place and he would just have to remember to be more careful in the future.

He knew without a doubt that this morning's events were just going to be the first of many; Dumbledore had as good as said so. The next time he would have to make sure that his reaction was like that of the other Slytherin students because the last thing he wanted to do was to draw attention to himself, especially now he knew what they were capable of.


	34. The Gryffindors' Reaction

**Part 34 – The Gryffindors' Reaction**

When Severus finally felt composed enough to face the rest of the students he left the common room with a feeling of relief that none of his classes that day were shared with the Gryffindor students. He did not think he could contend with James Potter and his friends on top of everything else.

He was still silently debating whether to try to track down Lily when she found him instead.

"Severus!" she shouted from the far end of the corridor, earning a frown from Professor Flitwick who merely shook his head in disapproval and moved on.

Severus considered whether to pretend he hadn't heard her but the only way to avoid her was to turn around and walk in the direction he had come, an action that would show her quite clearly that he was avoiding her. It seemed like he had been avoiding people all day, taking a deep breath he decided enough was enough and this was one person he was going to face without running away.

"I saw you run out of the Great Hall this morning," Lily said in a quieter tone as soon as he was in earshot. "Are you all right?"

Severus felt a twinge of guilt at her words of concern, especially when he recalled Dumbledore's words and knew he should be the one asking her that question.

"I just felt a bit ill," Severus said with a shrug. "Nothing to worry about."

"It looked to me like you were upset by the news in the paper," Lily observed, a slight questioning to her tone.

"Was it anyone you knew?" Severus asked, avoiding her unspoken question.

"No," Lily replied, shaking her head, as they continued to walk down the corridor. "But they didn't live that far from us. That close…"

Severus looked at Lily who was staring straight ahead down the corridor, her eyes not wavering from her path. He could tell exactly what she was thinking; he was thinking it too. If the murderers lived local to them, her family could be targeted next. He felt a shiver and wondered if he would dare to risk visiting Lily in the holidays again or whether it would be safer for all of them if he kept his distance.

"I'm sure they're hidden out far away from the scene of the crime," Severus offered and Lily silently nodded in response.

"Hey Lily, there you are!"

Severus turned at the sound of a female voice calling from behind them and saw Veronica running towards them, her books and parchment toppling from her overflowing arms.

"What are you doing talking to _him_?" Veronica asked with a scowl in his direction. He took a sharp breath and held his tongue, silently congratulating himself on how well he was starting to control his temper.

"Nothing's changed," Lily replied with a shrug. "Severus had nothing to do with the murders."

"He's a Slytherin," Veronica snapped. "The whole school is blaming their type for the murders. He may not have been there but it's his type that were and in ten years time he'll probably be out there with them."

"You sound as bad as them," Lily said with sadness in her voice. "Everyone's pointing the finger at the Slytherins just because that's where a hat says they should be."

"You sound like you don't believe in the Sorting Hat," Veronica said in surprise.

"It's just a hat, and to judge someone just because of what it says means that we aren't judging them for ourselves. I don't care who's in what house, I make my own friends based on _my_ judgement."

Veronica paled at Lily's words and Severus could tell that she had never heard anyone criticise the Sorting Hat before. He had never really thought about the Hat himself, other than to think about what house he should be placed in. He looked at Lily, set in her resolve, and felt a small measure of pride in his friend.

"The Sorting Hat is a tradition that's been upheld for years," Veronica whispered with a nervous glance around to see if anyone was listening. "You don't want to be criticising it and drawing attention to yourself. You never know who might be listening."

Severus didn't miss Veronica's sharp glance at himself and he bristled at her implied meaning.

"Severus is my friend," Lily insisted in a tired voice that gave away the fact that they had clearly had this conversation, or one similar, before.

"You hear that James?" Sirius Black's voice carried down the corridor from where he stood in an open doorway to what Severus had thought was an empty classroom. "_Snivellus_ has a friend."

"How sweet," James snickered as he came into view in the doorway.

Severus felt himself flush in embarrassment and his hand reflectively moved towards his wand. He looked at Lily who now had a look of boredom on her face; a glance at Veronica however showed that she was clearly enjoying the interruption.

"Severus was just showing concern for a friend after the awful news in the Daily Prophet this morning," Lily announced with a sharp look at Sirius and James. "Unlike some others I could mention whose only thought was the glory they would get if they caught the murderers."

Sirius grinned, far from bothered by Lily's words.

"The Ministry of Magic needs all the help it can get," James said as he drew out his wand and pointed it expertly in the standard opening position for a duel. "They'd be happy to have a couple of talented young wizards on board in their search."

"All we'd have to do is turn over all the Slytherins to them and their work would be half done already," Peter said from where he sat perched on the end of one of the desks.

"Yeah, the school will be much better off without them," Sirius said with conviction.

"They're not all that bad," Remus said with a frown from where he sat leaning back on one of the chairs, an open book on the desk in front of him.

"Name one that's not a complete creep," James challenged him.

Severus glared at James's back and waited for Remus to reply. He saw his gaze flicker over himself and thought for an instant that he was going to say him. But the moment passed in silence before Sirius laughed out loud and the others joked that they had finally found a question Remus couldn't find an answer to.

"What's going on here?"

Severus groaned silently as Lucius stalked down the corridor with Bellatrix at his heels. The morning really couldn't get much worse.

"I see the black sheep of the Black family is still lowering the tone of the whole family," Lucius sneered.

"How are you going to get moved into Slytherin if you keep associating with people like him?" Bellatrix added with a sigh of the long-suffering.

"Maybe it's escaped your notice," Sirius sneered back, "but I don't want to be in Slytherin."

"You might not want to be but it's in your blood," Bellatrix replied with a cold smile. "You can't deny your heritage."

"Leave it Bella," Lucius said with a scornful look at the Gryffindors. "He'll come around sooner or later. The Slytherin within will rise eventually."

"Never," hissed Sirius with another glare at his cousin.

"So Severus, what we were you doing with this scum?" Bellatrix asked with an equally hostile glare back at Sirius.

"I'm sure he was just pointing out that they shouldn't be in the classrooms between lessons," Lucius suggested with a smirk. "Five points from each for breaking the school rules, I think."

Bellatrix laughed, "maybe you should make it ten points from Sirius for answering back?"

"Good idea," Lucius agreed. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"That's not fair," Lily blurted out.

"And another five points from Gryffindor for answering back," Lucius smirked. "I wonder how many I should deduct for being a mudblood."

Bellatrix laughed in delight as Lily's face turned a mottled red and Severus recognised the signs of her temper rising.

"Dumbledore," he hissed at Lucius with a nod down the corridor behind him. "He just went that way."

"Nicely spotted Severus," Lucius smiled, and Severus felt relief that his lie was not noticed. "Come with me, I have a job for you to do."

Severus nodded as he followed Lucius and Bellatrix down the corridor. He glanced back as he turned the corner and saw that Sirius was still glaring after him. Lily too was looking in his direction and he felt a flush come over his face as he saw her silently mouth the words 'thank you' after him before the Gryffindors disappeared from his sight.

"So you understand what you have to do?" Lucius asked a short time later, after he had explained to Severus the task he wanted him to undertake.

Severus nodded in response, a sickening feeling in his stomach at the monumental mission he had been given by the older boy.

"I'll leave you to get on with that then," Lucius said with a cold smile as he left Severus alone in the dungeon common room.

Severus looked into the brightly burning fire as he wondered what sort of miracle Lucius was expecting him to perform.

His friendship with Lily had gone unnoticed but his regular presence with the other Gryffindors had not. He wondered how in the world Lucius had managed to mistakenly come to the conclusion that he was friends with Sirius, James and the others.

For a long time he stared into the flames until he realised that Lucius knew very well what the situation was between him and the others. He knew that they hated him, and he knew that by setting him this task they would hate him even more and any budding friendship he had with Lily would be destroyed in the process.

There was no other explanation he could think of for Lucius to ask him to use his 'friendship' with Sirius Black to convince him to request a transfer to Slytherin House.


	35. Mission Impossible

**Part 35 – Mission Impossible**

Severus walked into the Potions classroom the next morning, Lucius's words in the Great Hall at breakfast that morning still fresh in his mind.

"Your first class today's with Gryffindor, right?"

They were words that would not draw attention from anyone else, words that seemed casual and offhand, but were in fact designed to remind Severus of the task he had been given the previous day.

Sirius was already in his seat when Severus walked into the room. The other boy was leaning back casually in his chair as he balanced it on the back two legs, an expression of boredom was evident on his face.

There was no sign of Remus but James and Peter were present, the former was sitting next to Sirius and was telling a story that had reduced Peter, alone at the desk in front, to hysterical laughter.

"…and then, would you believe he only went and accidentally let off the dung bombs too…."

Severus sat down in the empty seat next to Peter and laughed along with Peter at James's story.

"You lost _Snivellus_?" asked James the moment he spotted him in the seat.

"N-n-no," Severus stuttered, his nerves returning at the thought of the job before him. "But Remus isn't here and I'll be made to work with _him_ anyway." He nodded at Peter.

"Where's Avery?" Sirius asked curiously as he looked around the room for the Slytherin Severus usually worked with.

"He's gone to see Madam Pomfrey, his allergies are acting up," Severus muttered.

"Allergies?" James asked sceptically.

Suddenly all three of them were drawn to look at Peter as he suddenly started to violently convulse and struggle for breath. "My allergies," he gasped out at last. "They're acting up. I've developed an allergy to _Snivellus_."

James and Sirius collapsed onto their desk laughing as Severus glared at Peter, wishing him the worst sort of allergic reactions he could think of. They continued to mess around and laugh at Severus's expense until the arrival of Professor Slughorn when they finally settled down.

"Ah good, Severus, you're working with Peter I see. Good to see the students of the different houses are all still working together. Only by standing strong together will we all get through these trying times."

Severus nodded obediently as Peter piped up beside him. "Of course Professor."

A snort from a couple of rows behind him brought Severus face to face with Veronica who had been clearly listening to every word and was no more convinced of Peter's sincerity than Severus was. In fact as Severus's eyes swept the room he saw that the faces of the students were a mixture of those who were still trying to contain their laughter at the Gryffindor boys' antics and those who merely looked bored. No one seemed to be eager to ask him to join their group. Even the Slytherins were as quiet as they usually were in such situations.

He had little time to ponder things though and was soon working hard at the task the class had been set. He soon found out why it was that neither James nor Sirius wanted to work with Peter. He found that he was constantly double checking Peter's work, correcting his actions and re-reading the instructions over and over to be sure that he was telling him correctly what the next step in the potion was. After fifteen minutes he had no doubt that it was not that Peter was deliberately trying to make him fail. He was simply one of the most easily distracted students in the room and his lack of concentration meant that his potion making was certainly amongst the worst in the class.

It was the hardest Potions lesson he had ever undertaken and his difficulties were only increased by the constant running commentary whispered in his direction from the table behind him.

"Not like that Peter, you missed his hand," James interjected at one point whilst Peter was carelessly chopping some of the ingredients, into far too large pieces, despite Severus's instructions to the contrary.

"If it's poisonous then make sure that _Snivellus_ tests it first," Sirius snickered as they were measuring out the potion into the beakers ready to hand in.

If Severus had thought of it himself he would have done something to bring it about, but as it happened it was by a pure stroke of luck that Sirius and James collided with each other and their own finished potion spilt to the floor. The glass didn't smash and Professor Slughorn was none the wiser to their mishap from his position at the other side of the room where great clouds of purple smoke were billowing from one of the cauldrons, a visual indication that someone had made a serious error in their potion.

"Looks like we'll fail this one," James said.

"Give the rest of the class a chance to catch up with us," Sirius replied, not the least bothered that they would earn no marks at all for their work.

"Here," Severus said as he reached across their desk and picked up the newly cleaned beaker from where James had placed it. "We haven't emptied our cauldron yet, Professor Slughorn won't know the difference, he's busy over there."

Quickly measuring out some of their own left over potion, Severus filled their beaker and slid it back onto their desk with plenty of time before they came to hand it in to be marked.

"Did he slip something else into it?" James whispered to Sirius.

"No I didn't," Severus hissed back.

"If he did, I didn't see him," Sirius replied. "But Slytherin's are crafty and sly so we won't find out 'til next class."

"I didn't see him put anything in it," Peter said although the expressions on faces of James and Sirius clearly said they wouldn't have expected him to notice if the potion was an entirely different colour and started flying round the room whilst singing the school song.

"How about you wait and see what marks you get?" Severus asked, knowing that their potion would get the same marks as his and Peter's.

"Not like we have any choice," James said as they all filed towards the front of the room, potions in hand, before heading out into the corridor.

* * *

"How's it going?"

Severus looked up from his table in the Slytherin common room to see Lucius standing over him, a sly smirk on his face.

"Not bad," Severus replied before turning back to the scroll he was scribbling down his homework on.

"The little mission I gave you?" Lucius asked. "Any progress there?"

"A bit," Severus said as he started toying with his quill, distracted from what he had intended to write about wolfsbane.

"And?" Lucius pushed.

"I worked with them in potions and let them use some of my potion when their own was spilt," Severus said with a shrug.

"Sweeten them up," Lucius said with a grin. "I like it. Keep me informed and hopefully Sirius will be here where he belongs by the end of the month."

"Maybe not that soon," Severus blurted in horror.

"Don't sell yourself short," Lucius offered with a benevolent smile before he strolled over to the sofa in front of the fireplace where Narcissa and Bellatrix were waiting for him to join them.

A month? Severus thought to himself, less than a month to convince Sirius that he should ask for a transfer to Slytherin house. Could things get any worse?

* * *

Severus spent most of his free period the next morning thinking up and discarding one plan after another, each more desperate than the last, in his quest to become close enough friends with Sirius that he would request a transfer into Slytherin.

Even though he knew that there would be no chance of him being transferred Severus found himself pondering on whether it would even be allowed. Was there ever a case of someone else being removed from one house and placed in another? There had been no mention of such a thing in _Hogwarts: A History _but that didn't mean to say that it had never happened. He just had to know where to look to find out.

The library seemed like the most sensible place to start his search but he found that by the time he had come to that conclusion and made his way there he could not get into the library at all.

Madam Pince stood at the doorway barring entrance to everyone.

"But I've got my NEWTs coming up," complained one seventh year Ravenclaw boy who stood waving books and parchment about as though this would gain him access.

"The library's closed until the fireworks have been removed," Madam Pince repeated.

"When will that be?"

"When Mr Filch had caught them all," Madam Pince replied.

"Well can you ask him?"

"No, I can't."

Severus stood back as the pair continued to argue. He could see through the door that Mr Filch was leaping about the library trying to catch the fireworks that had been set off inside. The crowd outside the library was growing, more from people watching the goings on than any desperate thirst for knowledge.

Seeing that the commotion was likely to last for some time Severus moved on past, resolving to come back some other time to see what he could find out. In the meantime he hoped he would have made some headway with Sirius after their next Potions class.

* * *

Potions class came round again and with Remus still mysteriously absent Severus seated himself down beside Peter once again.

Martin Avery, back from his visit to Madam Pomfrey, raised his eyebrows in question but Severus ignored him, resolving to fill him in later with the task that he had been assigned.

Professor Slughorn arrived and began handing out the marks for their previous lesson's work.

"Excellent work Severus," he said as he came over to his desk. "You too Peter, the best work you've done all year. Full marks for both of you."

Peter's face lit up at the first words of praise he had received from the Potions Professor and he turned to crow to James and Sirius. Severus bit down the sharp feeling of resentment that his hard work had gained the poorer student full marks, and he waited for James and Sirius to receive their own results.

"Good work from you too as well," Professor Slughorn said as he moved to the table behind Severus. "Not quite up to the standards of Severus here but still very good."

Sirius glared at Severus as Professor Slughorn moved on to the next table. "What did you do to our potion?" he hissed in a low voice.

"Nothing," Severus replied, safe in the knowledge that the potion they had handed in was identical to his own.

"You must have done something," James pointed out or we'd have got the same marks as you.

"I didn't do anything to the potion," Severus repeated before turning back to the front of the room, ready to start that day's work.

He was halfway through the lesson when he realised what had happened. The potion had been the same, he knew it was, so there was only one other explanation. Professor Slughorn had merely given him higher marks because he was in Slytherin. The professor's favouritism had done wonders for his grades but had nicely ruined the first stage of his plan to befriend Sirius Black.


	36. Bridging the Gap

**Part 36 – Bridging the Gap**

"Stupid muggle tradition," Severus muttered to himself as he turned round to walk back the way that he had come in the face of seeing yet another couple of students getting an early start on the Valentine Day celebrations. It was only when he turned round he saw that Lily had been trying to get his attention from the far side of the hallway where she was waiting for the staircase to decide which way it was going to move.

He wondered whether to simply carry on his way back to the library where he was planning on looking up whether there was any history of a student changing houses at Hogwarts. A glance around the hall confirmed that there were no Slytherins about and he decided to risk waiting for Lily.

"I've been looking all over for you," Lily said as she hopped off the staircase and greeted him with a wide smile. "I wanted you to know I'd noticed how much you're trying to rise above the pettiness by making friends with James and Sirius. I think that you're doing the right thing by not sinking to their level. I think you could all be really good friends. You three are the smartest students in the year."

Severus remained quiet, silently wondering whether she would be so gushingly proud of him if she knew the real reason he was tolerating the company of Potter and his gang.

"Remus told me how much you're trying to make friends with them all," Lily continued.

Severus frowned slightly as he thought about Remus. He'd returned to the school looking rather ill, although he had at least got some colour to his face when he'd appeared in the Great Hall for breakfast this morning. There was something odd about Remus but Severus simply couldn't figure out what it was that made him different from the other students.

The only thing he had managed to figure out was that whatever it was that Remus was hiding, he was hiding it from Potter and Black too, and that made him even more determined to figure out what it was.

Severus arrived at the library and turned to say farewell to Lily before realising that she was going to join him.

"Are you going to work on your Defence Against the Dark Arts essay?" Lily asked, having noticed that Severus took far more time over those assignments than any of the others and it would not have been the first time he had been re-writing or adding to the essay on the morning of the day it was due to be handed in.

"No, I did that on Sunday. I wanted to look something up about the school itself," Severus replied as he looked about for Madam Pince and spotted her returning books to the shelves over in the Herbology section.

"What are you looking up?" Lily asked curiously. "I looked up a lot of stuff as soon as I got here so I'd know as much as you did about Hogwarts. I read loads of books from Flourish and Blotts too. My parents took me during the Christmas holidays. I didn't like not knowing things that everyone else did."

Severus wondered, not for the first time, what it would have been like not to have known all his life that that he was a wizard and to find out just before attending the school. Although he would not have dared say anything in front of the Slytherins he knew that it must have been difficult for all the muggle-born students to learn such a thing about themselves. He could not begin to imagine how it would be to be hurried off to the school and then be treated like a second class citizen when the transition would have been hard enough in the first place.

He knew it had been hard for Lily, even with everything he had told her, and regretted once more that they were not in the same house so that he could have helped her more.

"I wanted to look up whether any students have ever swapped houses after being sorted," Severus said with a shrug as he waited for Madam Pince to return to her desk.

"You are?" Lily asked in surprise. "I know you're not happy in Slytherin but I didn't think things were that bad for you."

Severus realised instantly that Lily had come to the wrong conclusion but also knew that there was nothing he could do to correct her assumption without revealing that he was only pretending to be friends with Sirius and the others. Despite the fact that he knew it shouldn't matter to him, he wanted her to think the best of him rather than knowing the truth. He assured himself that if he only kept quiet it wouldn't really be lying.

He was saved from answering however by the return of Madam Pince who directed him to a couple of books of historical records of the school for him to check through. Gathering the books he needed Severus turned to see that Lily had settled down at one of the tables where Remus was catching up on his work.

"I'm sure Professor Knott-Bolt would give you an extension," Severus said as he sat down at the table and basked in Lily's bright smile of encouragement. "In the circumstances…"

Remus flushed, confirming Severus's suspicions that he was hiding something, but he didn't give anything away.

"I'd rather get it done and handed in," Remus muttered. "Best to keep on top of things like this and I don't want to fall too far behind."

"You have missed quite a bit of school, haven't you?" Severus said in a contemplative voice, for all the world sounding as if he had only just realised the fact, and not noticed each and every time the other boy had been missing from class.

"A bit," Remus muttered as he continued to scribble on the parchment, referring periodically to the large textbook lying on the desk before him.

"Well you know we're here for you, if you want to talk," Lily said encouragingly. "That's what friends are for."

"There's nothing to talk about," Remus answered, finally looking up and giving Severus and Lily a bright smile that Severus knew was as fake as the rubber wand James and slipped to an unsuspecting Hufflepuff girl who had been practising her Charms in the Great Hall the previous evening.

"Do you need a hand with the essay?" Severus asked, seeing that Remus was clearly not going to be forthcoming with his secret any time soon.

"I'm just struggling with finding the reference to underwater creatures," Remus said with a frown. "I know I saw it somewhere but I lost the page while looking up a counterhex."

"I think it's somewhere near middle of the book," Severus said, reaching across the table and flicking through the pages to try to find what he was looking for.

"Can't you get your own book?" the voice of James Potter rang through the quiet library.

"Or your own table?" Peter asked as he sank down into an empty seat and pulled out his own parchment and proceeded to work on his own essay. Severus spotted him casually looking at what Remus was writing before realising that Remus was working on his Defence paper and not the Transfiguration paper that he was hurrying to finish before their class that morning. He snickered quietly to himself before turning back to his own book.

"What you looking for?" James asked from where he had seated himself directly opposite Severus. Severus looked up and realised that James was genuinely curious about what he was doing. He must be really bored this morning.

"I'm trying to find out if it's possible to change houses once you've been sorted," Severus replied in an offhand manner that he hoped gave the impression of casual curiosity.

"You'd be better off looking up school transfers," Sirius suggested with a smirk. Severus glared at him without thinking before he remembered that Lily was sitting at the table. He looked in her direction and saw that she too was glaring at Sirius and had missed his own look of venom. James however had seen it and he could tell that he was not going to be fooled by his continued pretence at friendship.

"We'll be late for class," Lily said as she stood up. Severus remained seated, thankful that the Gryffindors shared their Transfiguration class with Ravenclaw while he was about to enjoy a free period that was entirely free of not only lectures but of James Potter and his gang.

Lily was the last to leave and before she departed she whispered a few words of encouragement to him. "Keep trying, they'll come around, especially if you find a way to get transferred into Gryffindor."

Severus nodded. The odd thing was that she was right and if he had been sorted into Gryffindor perhaps things wouldn't have been so bad. If he had been in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff it would have been better. It was only because he was in Slytherin that they were determined to make his life miserable.

Two hours later and Severus had worked his way through the books Madam Pince had recommended and found nothing at all about any student ever being transferred between houses. There were long passages about the Sorting Hat and many pages devoted to analysing its yearly songs but nothing on whether it had ever got things wrong. Nothing to give him any hope that Dumbledore would allow Sirius to switch houses, even if he were to persuade him to leave his friends and join the house he clearly despised.


	37. Dumbledore's Office

**Part 37 – Dumbledore's Office **

Severus chewed on his quill as he listened to the sounds of the other students passing him by. He didn't like to think of himself as hiding, but if he was entirely honest with himself he knew that that was precisely what he was doing.

Lucius Malfoy was holding court in the Slytherin common room and James Potter was lounging by the first table you came to through the library doors; the two people he least wanted to see had reduced him to sitting outside on the cold February Saturday as he pondered his options.

Nothing he had found in the school library gave him any hope whatsoever that a student could be transferred from one house to the other. On the contrary the historical volumes he had found detailed the high reverence with which the Sorting Hat was regarded and how it was invariably accurate in placing students exactly where they needed to be to fulfil their potential.

Now Severus knew that the task Lucius had given him was truly an impossible one. No matter how hard he tried to think of a way of succeeding, realistically he knew that there was no hope at all of Sirius Black joining the majority of his family in the Slytherin quarters. What was more, he suspected that Lucius must know this. He ever wondered if the prefect was merely punishing him for some unknown transgression.

Severus therefore found himself with an even more impossible task, that of finding a way to break the news to Lucius Malfoy that he had failed, which was why he found himself hiding away in a lonely corner of the school grounds hidden from the view of the passing students.

The afternoon wore on and Severus knew he had to make a move back to the common room soon. He might be able to practice his Charms out in the grounds but he still had his Transfiguration essay to finish. He also wanted to re-read his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay one more time too, just in case he recalled something that he had failed to mention, despite having written more than had been requested.

The first spots of rain falling went largely unnoticed by Severus but as the spots turned into a heavy shower he scrambled to his feet in order to make his way back indoors.

"Severus Snape," the lilting Scottish accent of Professor McGonagall echoed off the stones as Severus jumped back startled and dropped his wand on the floor. "What are you doing out here in the rain? Do you want another trip to the hospital wing?"

"No Professor," Severus mumbled as he picked up his items. Ducking his head he hurried past the professor and into the building.

"What were you doing out there?" McGonagall asked, her tone less sharp than before and clearly curious.

"Nothing," Severus replied his eyes darting away as he looked for the quickest way of escaping the professor's questioning gaze.

"Come with me, Mr Snape," McGonagall instructed, turning away and walking down the corridor, not waiting to see if he was following her. She didn't need to check, no student would refuse a request from her, and Severus was no different to any of the others in that regard.

Struggling to keep a hold of his items he hurried after Professor McGonagall, curious now himself as to where she was leading him.

They passed through the main entrance, Severus groaning as he caught a glimpse of James and Sirius lurking near the corridor that lead to the Slytherin quarters.

"Looks like _Snivelly's_ in trouble," Sirius said in a loud whisper that Severus had no trouble hearing at all. He felt himself flush and glared at the two boys wishing all kinds of curses on them, but he bit back a retort, something for which he was grateful when Sirius found himself on the receipt of a second glare, that of Professor McGonagall.

"Severus is not in any sort of trouble," she said as she cast an assessing gaze over Sirius and James. "The same might not be said of certain other parties, who appear to be loitering in an area of the school they have no business being in. I presume you've both been here long enough to know where the _Gryffindor _quarters are?"

"Yes Professor," James replied.

"Then I suggest you make your way to them before I find you something useful to do."

At her words, with the threat of extra assignments or detentions not quite hidden, James and Sirius hurried off towards the stairs and the Gryffindor tower.

Severus continued to follow after Professor McGonagall as she took him in another direction.

Finally they reached Professor McGonagall's classroom and she lead him inside and closed the door behind them.

"I know I'm not the head of your house," she began. "But I can't help but notice a marked difference in you in the last week. Your last assignment seemed hurried and not as well thought out as you normally do, and it hasn't escaped my attention that you seem to have been spending rather a lot of time with some of the Gryffindors."

"I can have friends in other houses can't I?" Severus asked, more than a little defensively.

"Of course," McGonagall replied. "It's always nice to see the students from different houses working together and getting along. But you're not exactly getting along with them are you?"

"I'm just trying to be friendly," Severus insisted, worried at the direction the conversation was taking.

"Which is to be commended," McGonagall replied. "The other thing is Madam Pince mentioned at dinner the other evening that you'd been asking about students transferring to another house, whether it had happened before."

"I was just curious," Severus said, the defensive tone even more pronounced.

"I understand you might not want to talk to the head of your own house if you want to transfer," McGonagall continued. "Which is why I thought it might be a good idea for us to have this little chat."

Severus stood in silence. Just as Lily had before her, Professor McGonagall had put two and two together and had arrived at entirely the wrong conclusion.

"I have to admit that I've never heard of any student transferring houses since I've been here," McGonagall said in a thoughtful tone. "But I know the best place to find out for sure."

"You do?" Severus asked, his curiosity rising once again.

"Certainly, come along, we'll find out right now."

Severus wondered whether to put the Professor right in her mistaken belief that he wanted to change house, only the thought of finding out for sure if it was possible or not, stopped him from saying anything. The last thing he wanted was to tell her the truth and for her to change her mind about finding out.

Leading Severus back into the corridor Professor McGonagall led him through the corridors and he soon realised that they were heading in the direction of the Headmaster's office.

"Isn't Professor Dumbledore away?" Severus asked, sure he hadn't seen him in the Great Hall all week.

"Yes, he's in London on school business," McGonagall confirmed as she reached the entrance.

"Exploding bon-bons," Professor McGonagall said in a clear voice with a small smile and a shake of her head in Severus's direction. The sweet tooth of Dumbledore was well known throughout the school and a continuing joke amongst the students that he used such passwords for his office.

With their request for entrance accepted Severus followed the Professor into Dumbledore's office.

"You're going to ask the Sorting Hat?" Severus questioned as he spied it in its usual place on one of the many shelves in the room.

"Well I'm sure the Sorting Hat will let us know it's opinion but since the decision about moving a student from one house to another would always lie with the headmaster or headmistress of the time, I thought the best people to ask would be those themselves."

"What's that?" an elderly wizard barked out from one of the portraits on the far wall of the office.

"She said something about students transferring houses," another wizard replied and Severus spun round to see which of the portraits behind him had spoken.

"That's right," Professor McGonagall said and repeated her question for the rest of the occupants of the portraits who had not been listening to her at first.

"I don't recall anyone ever changing house," a thoughtful looking witch said with a graceful shrug. "Certainly not while I was headmistress."

"Nor in my time either," the wizard who had spoken first replied. "The Sorting Hat is always accurate in where it places the students."

"Everyone goes where they belong," the Sorting Hat chimed in and Severus thought he detected a note of smugness in its voice.

One by one the former heads of Hogwarts confirmed that they had never known a student change house after they had been sorted. Severus felt his hopes sink before realising that if there was no precedent for this happening before it might make it easier for Lucius to believe that he'd tried his best; it was simply the rules of the school that were preventing him from getting Sirius moved into Slytherin house. The fact that Sirius didn't want to move away from his friends in Gryffindor was entirely beside the point.

Eventually all the occupants of the portraits had said their piece. Or at least all except a couple of occupants who were absent from their paintings, and one who had refused to answer a question from a Deputy Head, stubbornly insisting that he was only duty bound to assist the Headmaster. And unfortunately no amount of persuasion from Professor McGonagall could change Phineas Black's stance.

"I doubt there was anyone transferring houses in his reign either," Professor McGonagall said after they had left the office. "Had there been I'm quite sure he would have enjoyed being the centre of attention as he told us all about it. Besides which I doubt he would have been that accommodating to a request from a student to move to another house."

"So in the entire history of Hogwarts, no student has ever changed house," Severus commented.

"Not that any of the former Heads can remember," McGonagall replied with a sympathetic smile. "But there's nothing to stop you being friends with anyone from the other houses, and all the teachers, myself included, are here to help if you have a problem."

Severus nodded and after mumbling his thanks he headed down the stairs and towards the Slytherin common room.

Once inside the door he saw that Lucius was right where he had been just after lunch when he had ducked out of the room. Seated before the roaring fire, in the most comfortable chair with Narcissa perched on one arm, he was just finishing telling the latest version of his meeting with the Dark Lord, this version even more embellished than the previous ones.

"Severus, there you are." Lucius called out the not quite friendly accusation as Severus shuffled towards his usual table. "Where've you been? Making progress with that little job I gave you?"

Severus turned to reply to Lucius and caught the smirks of several of the other students sitting around the fireplace. In that instant he knew for sure that Lucius was well aware that no matter what he tried Sirius Black was not going to be joining any little club in the Slytherin quarters.

"I've been trying to find out if it's even possible," Severus answered in a forced strong voice. "I've spoken with most of the former Head's in Dumbledore's office and they've told me that in the entire history of Hogwarts they have no record of a student moving houses."

"You've been in Dumbledore's office?" Bellatrix asked, doubt evident in her tone.

"He's away isn't he?" Lucius asked with a frown.

"In London," Severus confirmed. "You can ask Professor McGonagall if you don't believe me."

He waited a moment, worried that one of the Slytherins might take him up on the offer. But it seemed that they were prepared to believe him rather than face the Transfiguration Professor who would no doubt demand to know why they were asking about things that weren't really their concern.

"Wish I'd known you were going there," Lucius eventually commented. "Could have been handy. Pity those portraits are all in there, the worst sort of security since they're loyalty has to lie with the current head teacher. Otherwise the password might have been useful."

"What about Sirius?" Severus asked, wanting more than anything at that point to be relieved of the task of trying to befriend the obnoxious, bullying show-off.

"Looks like we'll have to leave him where he is," Lucius replied, clearly not that troubled that Severus had failed. "Don't worry I'll find you something else to do soon."

Severus nodded and felt the knot in his stomach loosen a little, he only hoped his next task was far less troublesome.


	38. The Other Recruit

**Part 38 – The Other Recruit**

Severus waited with mounting trepidation at the thought of what Lucius would request of him next. The only good thing to come out of his recent decision was that he was no longer required to pretend to be friends with the Gryffindors.

He was still wondering what task would next be required of him when one Monday morning he found himself distracted from his own problems by the strange behaviour of one of his fellow first year Slytherins, Justin Wilkes.

The first thing he noticed was that the student, who was normally one of the first in the Great Hall for breakfast, missed the meal entirely.

Then in their morning flying lesson the normally quite steady flyer was going off course and struggling to hold onto his broom as though he'd never ridden one before.

By the end of the lesson even Madam Hooch had noticed that something was amiss.

"Wilkes, watch where you're flying," she shouted across the Quidditch pitch where their lessons were now taking place. Severus turned to look behind him and saw that Justin had crashed into Lily's friend Veronica who looked ready to knock him off his broom for his clumsiness.

"Sorry," Justin muttered, although he sounded far from it.

Once Madam Hooch's attention was focused elsewhere Severus turned back towards Justin and guided his broom in the direction of the other boy.

"You alright?" he asked as he kept an eye open for the bludgers that James Potter seemed to aim solely in his direction.

"Just a bit tired," Justin replied with a shrug before glancing away.

Two swift and well-aimed bludgers in his direction soon drew Severus's attention back to the practice though and it wasn't until lunchtime when he noticed that Justin was missing once again, that his thoughts turned to the other boy once more.

Justin only reappeared a moment before their History of Magic class started and there was no time for Severus to say anything as Justin slipped into the seat in front of him.

Whilst Severus was unable to speak with Justin in class due to their seating arrangements he had no problem with whispering to Martin Avery who had taken the seat next to him.

"Have you noticed Justin acting a bit odd lately?" Severus whispered as soon as Professor Binns had started his monotonous lecture on one or another of the goblin rebellions.

"Odd?" Martin whispered back as he looked up from where he had been using his wand to magically scorch his name onto the desk.

"He wasn't at lunch or breakfast," Severus pointed out. "And he was really clumsy in flying practice."

"Perhaps he's having a bad day," Martin replied with a shrug, the other student clearly not of great interest to him. "Or got something on his mind."

Severus didn't know what it was in Martin's tone that led him to the conclusion, but he knew that the instant he realised it, it was the right one. Lucius was recruiting others as well as himself. Justin had been talking to Lucius in the common room a few nights ago, and it was since then that he'd been acting strangely. Lucius had asked him to do something, just as he had asked Severus, and Justin was now struggling with the task that he'd been set. And if his task was anything like Severus's then it was no wonder he was distracted.

Severus tried to get Justin's attention as they left the classroom after the lesson had finished but he didn't quite manage it and it wasn't until their evening astronomy class that Severus found himself with the opportunity he'd been waiting for.

Severus forced himself to wait until the lesson was well underway before whispering his question to Justin.

"What's Lucius asked _you_ to do?"

Justin looked up and after a quick glance towards Professor Sinistra whispered back "later."

Their class was just finishing when Justin suddenly pulled out his wand and with a nervous glance and a whispered spell he neatly unscrewed the telescope from its stand.

Professor Sinistra came running across the room at the sound of the crash and the cheers and laughter from the other students.

"It just fell off," Justin explained with a hidden warning glance at Severus.

"I'll fix it," Professor Sinistra said. She glanced at her watch before pulling out her wand and Severus watched as Justin visibly held his breath.

"You two might as well go back to your common room," Professor Sinistra said with a sigh. "The class is nearly over anyway."

They didn't need telling twice and Severus followed Justin as he gathered his scrolls and bolted for the door before the rest of the class finished clearing away. As soon as they were outside the classroom Severus stuck close to Justin as they descended the spiral staircase down from the astronomy tower. Once they were safely out of earshot Justin picked up his pace until he was practically running through the corridors, Severus close at his heels.

"Where are we going?" Severus asked as he realised they weren't heading for their common room, but instead were in an entirely different area of the school.

"The library," Justin replied. "There isn't much time before Pince closes up for the evening."

"Since when is the library locked at night?" Severus asked.

"Since just after the thefts started," Justin replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice at such an obvious question.

"Well can't it just wait until tomorrow?" Severus asked.

"No."

"But Madam Pince will clear out the library before she locks up," Severus pointed out.

"Yeah, she has done the last two evenings," Justin muttered as they reached the corridor that lead to the library.

"So how are you planning on making sure she doesn't this time?"

"You're going to distract her," Justin said with a smile that was ever so slightly malicious.

"What?"

"Distract her," Justin repeated. "I'll go and hide at the back of the library where the lights are dimmer, and you distract her so that she's running late for supper and hopefully she won't check properly. She always checks the library in a particular way, I just need to keep quiet and make sure that she doesn't see me as she does her round."

"What do you want from the library?" Severus asked, curious to know what it was that Lucius wanted so badly.

"Just a book."

"Which one?"

"One from the restricted section," Justin replied.

"But why doesn't Lucius get it himself, he's a prefect," Severus asked with a frown. Why ask a student without access to risk getting into trouble to fetch something that he could easily get for himself?

"I don't know, why did he want you to try to get Sirius into Slytherin House when it's obvious he isn't one of us?"

Severus shrugged unable to answer the question and a little taken back that others in his house knew about the task he had thought was a secret.

"Ready?" Justin asked when they reached the door to the library. "You go in first and distract her and I'll go in whilst she's not looking so that she doesn't know I'm in there."

Severus nodded his agreement and pushed open the door. Madam Pince was clearing away the papers on her desk and the only other students in the library, two fifth year Ravenclaw girls, were likewise packing their things away.

"I'm closing up now," Madam Pince said with a nod to the door behind him, a subtle hint that he should turn around and follow the girls' example and come back another time.

"I just need a book for my Defence Against the Dark Arts essay, it's due tomorrow," said Severus, pointing towards the section of the library. "I know which one. I'll be quick."

"Okay," Madam Pince agreed. "But hurry along."

Severus scuttled towards the shelves that held the Defence Against the Dark Arts books and waited a moment.

"It's not here," he called out. "Is it checked out?"

"Well which one is it?" Madam Pince asked with a long-suffering sigh.

Severus gave her the name of the book and she hurried into the back room where the catalogue cards were kept. He watched out the corner of his eye as Justin came into the room, quietly hurrying past the desk, before disappearing out of sight behind the high bookcases at the far end of the room.

"It's been checked out by a Remus Lupin," Madam Pince said as she emerged from the back room.

"Oh," Severus replied, feigning surprise and hoping that Madam Pince didn't realise that he knew very well that Remus had likely still got the book he'd seen him check out just the previous day. "I'll see if I can borrow it from him."

"Just remember to bring it back here when you're done," Madam Pince warned.

Severus nodded and hurried out of the library and down the corridor. He found a small alcove out of the way and on the main route to the Slytherin common room and settled down to wait for Justin to catch him up.

The minutes ticked on and Severus wondered if Justin had been caught after all and was even now on his way to Dumbledore's office.

He was about to give up waiting and return to the common room alone when the sound of footsteps coming towards him just a shade too quickly signalled that Justin had not been caught.

He stepped out of the alcove and Justin approached, startling the other boy into dropping the book he'd taken such pains to retrieve.

"What took you so long?" Severus asked.

"I don't want the job of taking it back again so I put Lucius's name on the card so he can take it back himself. I had to practice getting my writing to look like Madam Pince's, it took longer than I thought."

"But won't she remember someone getting a book from the restricted section?"

"I hope not, but it's in Lucius's name now anyway."

"What is it he wanted you to get?" Severus looked towards the heavy and cumbersome book. Justin nodded towards a darkened classroom and they ducked inside.

No sooner had the door closed behind them did they realise that the room was not as deserted as they had thought. Hovering high up in the far right corner, was Peeves, who could not fail to notice both them and the book that they shouldn't have.

They stood rooted to the spot, waiting for Peeves to launch his attack on them. It was nearly a full minute before they realised that it wasn't coming and that Peeves didn't even seem to be aware of their presence.

Backing out of the door quietly Severus and Justin hurried away and found another empty room.

"What was that all about?" Justin asked. "It's not like Peeves to miss a chance to make trouble."

"It's like he didn't even see us," Severus replied, equally confused.

"He's probably plotting something big," Justin commented.

"Yeah, that must be it," Severus agreed before looking pointedly at the book.

Justin placed it on the table and Severus read the title aloud.

"_Hogwarts: A History_. So what's so special about it? Why is this book in the restricted section?"

"Let's find out," Justin opened the book and flicked through the pages randomly.

"Is it a first edition?" Severus asked, as they continued to skim the pages. Justin turned to the front of the book and shook his head.

"So what's so special about it?" Severus asked. "Why not just get a copy of the latest edition from Flourish and Blotts?"

"I don't know," Justin replied. "But let's get this to Lucius and maybe he'll fill us in on what he wants it for."

Severus nodded his agreement and they headed off to the common room.


	39. Mischief Managed

**Part 39 – Mischief Managed**

The next morning Severus was still no wiser as to why it was that Lucius needed the older edition of a book that was readily available in Diagon Alley.

Justin had handed him the book with a look of pride on his face, only for Lucius to barely glance at the volume before tossing it carelessly to one side without so much as a thank you.

Justin had quickly schooled his annoyed expression to a more neutral one and Severus didn't fail to notice that the other boy was quick to escape from Lucius's presence. He couldn't blame him for not wanting to get another job foisted on him.

Severus himself had hovered for a while to see if Lucius said anything about the book but he didn't and the next morning it was safely put away so there was no chance of getting another, closer look at it.

By the end of the week Severus had almost put the matter from his mind. With the arrival of the Daily Prophet on Saturday morning, containing the news that there had been another attack, this time on a family of wizards who had been recently protesting for the equal rights of muggle-born wizards, Lucius's book was forgotten about completely.

Severus read the article, noting that once again the place of the attack was marked with what the papers were calling the Dark Mark. Again it was a sign that someone had died, this time the father of the family. The paper reported that the mother was still alive but had been admitted to St Mungos, and appeared to have been attacked more than once with the cruciatus curse. The staff of St Mungos were unsure whether she'd recover and hadn't yet broken the news of her husband's death to her, fearing it might hinder her recovery even more. The two children of the family had thankfully been staying with relatives at the time of the attack.

Severus read through the article, trying not to look at the picture of the skull with the snake protruding from its mouth. At least this time it wasn't quite such a shock to see his own drawing in such a terror inducing form. But his stomach still turned at the thought of how many more times he would see his drawing displayed in such a manner.

Severus didn't have time to dwell on the article though and all too soon he was buried in textbooks as he started the research for his History of Magic Essay which was due on Monday afternoon and still barely started.

Settling down at a table in the dim recesses of the library Severus was soon distracted from yet another essay on the Goblin Rebellions by the far more entertaining pastime of doodling the said goblins along the edge of the parchment.

Before he knew it half an hour had passed and he was no closer to finishing the essay than he'd been at breakfast.

Casting the parchment aside he dug out a fresh piece and started again. He didn't notice a hand reaching across the table to pick up the discarded piece of parchment.

"This one looks like Professor Flitwick," a familiar voice commented. Severus jumped in his seat and looked up to see Lily sitting opposite him with the parchment in her hands. He hadn't even heard her sit down. "This is one of your drawings?"

Severus nodded, a small smile forming at her delight at the drawings.

"Can you draw the professors?"

"Sure," Severus muttered with a shrug.

"Can you do McGonagall?" asked Lily with a girlish giggle. Severus looked up to see the sparkle of mischief on the girl's face and pulled out another piece of parchment.

"McGonagall as she is or McGonagall…er…?" Severus smiled slightly, hesitant to put his thoughts into words, unsure for the moment as to what Lily would think.

"Something amusing?" Lily suggested. "I think I need something to laugh about this morning.

Severus looked at the items Lily had placed on the table and saw her copy of the Daily Prophet amidst the textbooks and scrolls. He knew that the family in the report couldn't be connected to Lily, but he understood immediately why the story might have upset her. If she wanted something amusing then he would do his best to oblige.

He chewed on the end of his quill for a moment as he waited for inspiration to hit.

Finally he decided on an amusing, cartoonish caricature, of the head of Gryffindor house. Exaggerating her features just slightly, he achieved the effect he was after. The picture was instantly recognisable as the Transfiguration professor but with a few marked differences. The nose was just a tad too long, the frown just a little overdone and the bun that she wound her hair back into looked just a shade too tight.

Severus added the finishing touch to the picture and was about to scrawl his initials on the bottom of the page when Lily's hand grabbed the quill from him to stop him.

"Don't sign it," she advised with a wicked grin. "I've got an idea. Can you do the other professors too?"

Severus nodded and pulled out another piece of parchment and quickly produced an actual picture of Professor Flitwick, this one looking a little less goblin-like than the one Lily had commented on, but enough that the resemblance was there.

"Do Professor Binns next," Lily insisted with a delighted laugh that was quickly smothered at the forbidding look from Madam Pince who hadn't failed to notice the two first years disturbing the quiet of her library.

Ignoring Lily's request Severus instead drew a Madam Pince, following it up with Professor Binns before turning his attention to Filch, Mrs Norris and the rest of the staff of Hogwarts.

Eventually he had produced amusing caricatures of all save Headmaster Dumbledore whom, for some reason, he didn't feel comfortable poking fun at, and whom Lily hadn't asked to be immortalised like the rest.

"Can I have these?" Lily asked, gathering the various parchments together, chuckling now and again as she looked them over.

"What for?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"These are too good to hide," Lily said. "I thought perhaps we could put them up around the school and give everyone a bit of a laugh."

"No!" Severus gasped, reaching to grab the parchments back.

"Why not?" asked Lily, holding them out of his reach, clearly reluctant to relinquish them.

Severus hesitated to answer. He wasn't sure why he didn't want anyone to see his pictures, he knew that a few others, mainly Slytherin students had seen him sketching. And of course Remus had also caught him in drawing in the library before Christmas. No one had ever criticised his pictures but there was always a first time and he wasn't sure, with everything else happening, whether he wanted that first time to be now.

"They're not signed so you won't get into trouble," Lily pointed out. She pulled aside the picture of Professor Kettleburn and waved it enticingly. "This one would look nice stuck up in the Entrance Hall I think."

Severus chewed on his lip as he thought things though. Without his name on them there was no way to trace them back to him. Those who knew about his drawings were mainly Slytherin students who would be unlikely to get him into trouble, even if they made the connection.

But what about Remus?

Would the Gryffindor be tempted to tell his friends who the artist was? Would he tell one of the Professors if asked?

"And what about this one in the Great Hall?" Lily waved the picture of the extremely skinny Filch and the ferocious looking Mrs Norris. "No one will know where they've come from. I'll stick them up, so you won't be taking any risk if that's what you're afraid of."

"I'm not afraid of getting caught," insisted Severus as he chewed on his quill for a few moments longer before finally nodding his agreement. He just hoped that Remus wouldn't recognise his handiwork.

* * *

Lily assured Severus that she would put all the pictures up over the course of the next week, starting the following morning. Severus was not therefore surprised to see a group of students crowding around the first of his pictures in the Great Hall the following morning when he went down to breakfast. 

He joined them to avert suspicion away from himself and also to see the reactions of the students who were, he was relieved to see, admiring his work.

"Where's Filch?" a Ravenclaw boy asked with a nervous glance about the room to check he wasn't there.

"It's so like him," laughed one of the sixth year Hufflepuff girls. "Who do you think did it?"

"I don't know," another student gasped out between guffaws of laughter.

Severus smiled at the reactions of the students as he turned his back on the picture and moved towards the table. He spotted Lily at the Gryffindor table, already tucking into her breakfast; she winked at him and grinned before innocently diverting her attention back to her friends.

* * *

During the course of the week the rest of the pictures appeared one by one around the school. Severus wondered how Lily was managing to put up his pictures without being caught but had not had the chance to catch her alone to ask her. 

His first moment of unease was when he'd spotted a knowing look from Remus who'd returned to school on Tuesday morning after another family emergency.

"Interesting style," Remus had commented on spotting the drawing of Madam Hooch near the Quidditch supply room.

Severus ignored the knowing smirk on Remus's face, shrugged and declined to comment as he joined the queue of students picking out brooms for their Tuesday afternoon flying lessons.

He was sure that the other boy had figured out who'd drawn them but was ironically saved from being publicly unmasked by none other than James Potter.

"So who do you think the mystery artist is?" Sirius asked in the Friday afternoon Potions lesson. Severus at the neighbouring table felt his heart miss a beat as he looked nervously across at Remus. He wondered briefly why the other boy hadn't already told his friends that he at least suspected who the artist was.

"Concentrate on what _you're_ doing Mr Snape, not your neighbours," chastised Professor Slughorn in a friendly tone. Severus flushed and turned back to his own cauldron. Like he'd need to copy off of Potter and his friends who'd barely started their own potion anyway.

"Yeah, _Snivellus_ do your own work," hissed Peter as soon as the Professor had moved out of earshot and was safely distracted seeing what had apparently gone wrong with the potion of another student. The green smoke was certainly indicative of an error on the part of the girl who was trying not to choke on the fumes that she was frantically waving away with her textbook.

"So do you have any idea who the artist is?" asked Remus casually.

Severus held his breath as he waited for Remus to admit that he knew who'd done the drawings.

"Well it has to be a Gryffindor," a distracted sounding James replied.

Severus sneaked another look at the other table. Remus was stirring his cauldron, pointedly gazing into the contents whilst the others were preparing various ingredients.

"How are you so sure?" Sirius asked. "Could be someone from Ravenclaw. The second one appeared near the foot of their tower."

"One of the pictures was left on the common room table with some books earlier in the week," James answered.

"Who left it there?" inquired Peter.

"Don't know," James replied. "It was Tuesday morning and I got distracted by Remus getting back. When I turned back to see whose books they were they'd been moved."

"What books?" Sirius asked. "First years, fifth years?"

"Just general books, not textbooks for a particular year."

Severus smiled as he realised that Lily had inadvertently diverted suspicion from him very nicely, albeit accidentally.

He turned back to his own cauldron again and darted a look at Lily's desk. She too had clearly been listening to the boys' conversation and she grinned wickedly with, like Severus, the knowledge that there were still a couple of pictures still to be placed on display.


	40. The Slytherin Within

**Part 40 – The Slytherin Within**

Severus had come to the conclusion that the only way that Lily could be putting up the pictures without being caught was to do it early, before the rest of the school was up and about.

Therefore on Saturday morning Severus decided to track her down by getting up early himself. He was feeling slightly guilty about letting her take all the risk of getting caught and resolved to put the final ones up himself.

The Slytherin Common Room was deserted but for a couple of seventh year students buried in their books. They looked up in surprise at Severus's appearance as he made his way across the room but didn't say anything to him, merely burying themselves back in their studies.

Severus slipped from the room and navigated the winding, deserted corridors until he reached the stone staircase leading up to the Entrance Hall.

He climbed the stairs slowly, wondering where best to look for Lily. He had just reached the top stair and the Entrance Hall when he heard the sound of light and quick footsteps descending one of the staircases above him. He pulled back into the shadows to wait for the person to pass him by, only to see that it was Lily herself, armed with one of the remaining sketches.

He watched quietly as she quickly crossed the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall.

Severus opened his mouth to call out to her, but at the sound of more footsteps from above the words died on his lips. He stepped back into the shadows and waited to see who it was.

A moment later the figure came into view: Dumbledore.

Severus instinctively edged back down a couple of steps as he watched the Headmaster stride past and into the Great Hall.

"Good morning Miss Evans." Dumbledore's voice carried back easily and Severus made his way cautiously back into the Entrance Hall to look into the Great Hall.

"Good morning," Lily replied. Severus could tell she sounded slightly startled. He edged forward until he could see into the room where Lily and Dumbledore were standing a few feet away from the door.

"I see that Hogwart's mystery artist is unmasked," Dumbledore commented as he reached out his hand and gestured to the paper Lily was grasping. "May I?"

Severus watched as Lily, with some reluctance, passed Dumbledore the parchment.

"Professor Flitwick," Dumbledore said with a small laugh. "I don't know how flattered he would be with the rendition though. Some of the Professors are delighted to see themselves immortalised in these drawings, other's not so much."

"They're only meant to be a bit of fun," Lily replied in a slightly subdued tone.

"Oh they are indeed." Dumbledore nodded and held up the parchment to view it in a better light. "But not all of the Professors think so. You have two more drawings I believe, do you have them with you?"

"There's just this one," Lily replied as she pulled out the final picture that Severus knew must be of the ghostly Professor Binns; that one and Flitwick's were the only ones yet to be displayed.

"Only that one?" Dumbledore sounded suspicious, like he didn't believe her. Severus scowled at the thought of the older man questioning Lily's honesty.

"That's the last of them," confirmed Lily.

"There wouldn't be one more?" Dumbledore asked again. "All the drawings have made their way to my office eventually, there's quite a collection. With these two it's almost a complete set. Are you sure there isn't one more; one that perhaps you're afraid to show _me_ in particular?"

"No Professor." Lily shook her head.

"You mean that there isn't a sketch of me waiting to be displayed?"

"No Sir."

"Oh. I must confess to being a trifle disappointed."

Severus moved a little closer to the doorway, watching as Dumbledore looked at the pictures in his hands.

"Disappointed?" asked Lily, looking Dumbledore in the eye.

"I was looking forward to seeing myself rendered in this way. I thought perhaps you were waiting to display mine until last."

"There isn't one of you," Lily confessed.

"Ah well," Dumbledore replied, shrugging slightly.

A few moments passed in silence whilst Dumbledore continued to study the drawings. Severus remained rooted to the spot, holding his breath, his instincts telling him that Dumbledore hadn't quite finished yet.

Lily shifted from foot to foot, casting nervous glances towards the doorway. Severus retreated back into the shadows, unsure whether she'd noticed him or not.

"Still…" Dumbledore's quiet voice nevertheless reached Severus with ease. "Still, there are some members of staff who are not so pleased about the drawings. Mr Filch in particular was rather beside himself when he came across his portrait."

"Am I in a lot of trouble?" Lily asked.

"Not a lot of trouble, no," Dumbledore assured her. "But I think a detention will help to appease those who aren't so appreciative of your talent. Is tomorrow okay with you?"

"Tomorrow?" Lily echoed.

"Maybe next Saturday then?" Dumbledore offered.

Severus's jaw dropped at Dumbledore practically offering to arrange the detention around Lily's own schedule. It was a sure sign that Dumbledore was not at all angry about the pictures, but was in a position where he had to show authority.

For the first time since Dumbledore had appeared, Severus wondered if he should make his presence known. They were his pictures, it was his work; it should be him in detention. He moved forward slightly as if to enter the Great Hall.

But instead of going into the room and confessing, Severus remained just outside the doorway, waiting for he knew not what. Waiting, until eventually the moment passed him by.

"Next Saturday then," Dumbledore said. "And perhaps you might be able to complete the collection by then?"

Severus watched Dumbledore offer Lily a quick wink and a smile as he turned back towards the door. He was about to move back out of sight but realised too late that Dumbledore had already spotted him lurking.

"Good morning, Severus," Dumbledore greeted him as he passed into the Entrance Hall.

"Good morning, Headmaster," Severus replied, but any words of confession just wouldn't come forth and all too soon Dumbledore had disappeared into the upper confines of the school once more.

"Severus?" Lily called out from inside the Great Hall.

Severus forced himself to smile as he walked into the room.

"I got caught," Lily said. "Professor Dumbledore has the last of the pictures."

"I heard," Severus mumbled, casting an anxious glance back towards the door.

"You heard all of that?" Lily asked in a neutral tone.

"I should have said something," Severus admitted. "You shouldn't have to do detention when the drawings are mine."

"I don't mind," Lily replied. "I said I'd take the risk."

"Still…"

"You could probably catch Dumbledore if you tried," Lily pointed out.

Severus looked towards the door again, but just like before his feet wouldn't move in the direction he knew they should.

"It's okay," Lily said. "But you heard what Dumbledore said about the drawings; he'd like one of himself too. Would you…?"

"Draw Dumbledore?" Severus nodded. "I'll find a way to get a picture to you before next weekend."

"Thanks."

Severus nodded again unsure what else to say. Lily wasn't blaming him for not coming forward to admit his part, but he knew she was disappointed in him. He was disappointed in himself.

Suddenly things said by the students in other houses about those in Slytherin made a lot more sense.

Cowards!

They always save their own skins first!

As a Slytherin student he hadn't taken a great deal of notice of the snide remarks, no more so than he suspected the Hufflepuff students took note of the comments about their intelligence. He'd dismissed the harsh words as pettiness and jealousy and didn't think their veiled insults applied to him.

Now one word, more than any other rang through his mind.

Coward!

The Sorting Hat had placed him well, if his actions or lack thereof, this morning were anything to go by. Not only that, the other students were right to call him a coward. He didn't want to be, and he hated that he was, but there was no other word to describe him on this Saturday morning.

He was a true Slytherin, but one who would have given a great deal at that moment to be in any other house but that one.

He had been sorted into the right house, there was no doubt about it; the Sorting Hat had sensed the coward, had sensed the Slytherin, within him.

* * *

_Authors Note: Aug 2007 - Yes I do still intend to finish this story. I have just finished making sure that both this story and my Lupin Origins one are as compatible with HBP and DH as they can be – also sorted out a lot of the typing errors. I am now working on updates._


	41. Making Amends

_Author Note: Sorry for the lack of updates. I won't bore you with the usual bad excuses etc. There are reasons but I'm sure everyone would much rather just get on with reading the update. However I would ask that you do read the rest of the notes as they are slightly more important._

_I have now done a lot of work on both this story and the Lupin Origins story in order to make the two of them compatible with HBP and DH. Some changes are minor, some not so much. However I have done it so that no one is obliged to re-read anything they have already read in order to make sense of the story. But things might seem a little odd if I failed to mention it. Professor Mistry is no more - Professor Slughorn is where he belongs, Andromeda is in Slytherin rather than Ravenclaw where I had placed her, Snape's father is now a muggle and every other major inconsistency is amended. _

_There are a few small things that I haven't altered but they are either ones that would require everyone to re-read the stories if I did amend them or would mess up a main plot line (yes I do have a plot despite appearances to the contrary). I have also left in the free periods that we now know wouldn't have been in their timetables until the sixth year. But it took me forever to sort out a working timetable and the one I came up with required free periods following a midnight astonomy lesson and changing the timetable at this stage would be virtually impossible. I hope you don't mind this and a few other small inconsistencies and that they don't affect your enjoyment of the story._

_Louisa_

* * *

**Part 41 – Making Amends**

During the week that followed Lily being apprehended with his drawings Severus wrestled with the decision of whether to step forward and take his share of the blame or not.

Lily hadn't said anything to him about speaking with Dumbledore since the morning in the Great Hall, but still it preyed on his mind.

As Lily's detention drew nearer he found himself feeling more and more guilty, no more so than the evening before her detention when he sought her out to deliver the promised picture of Dumbledore.

Lily had disappeared from the Great Hall after dinner and that was the last time he'd seen her. He'd barely started on his dessert when Lily had jumped up from her seat and hurried out of the room. By the time Severus himself had finished she was nowhere to be found.

He'd wandered the corridors, poking his head into every open classroom without catching a glimpse of her. He'd seen Remus in the library and had even considered asking him to check the Gryffindor quarters.

The last thing he wanted was for Lily to be in even more trouble because she hadn't managed to produce the drawing Dumbledore had asked for. He didn't think that Dumbledore would be angry with her if she didn't fulfil his request but he had a suspicion the Professor would be disappointed in her.

He'd felt that disappointment, whether real or imagined, several times now and didn't like the thought of Lily being on the receiving end of the same.

He had searched half the school and was just on his way back to the library to reluctantly enlist the help of Remus when he finally spotted his elusive quarry chatting to the portrait of an elderly witch in a corridor close to the Ravenclaw quarters.

He watched her for a moment or two and listened as she laughed at something the witch was saying. If he'd had a spare piece of parchment in the pockets of his robes he'd have drawn her likeness in that moment. He tried to recall the last time she'd laughed in such a carefree manner over something he'd said and then wondered if she ever had.

He waited until she had turned away from the portrait before calling out to her. She turned back to him with a smile and waited for him to catch up with her.

Pulling from his robes the drawing of Dumbledore, he thrust out his hand and waited for her to take it. He was sure that he could see accusation in her eyes as she took the parchment from him.

"This isn't like the others," Lily commented. Severus shrugged and looked away.

He'd tried to do an amusing picture of the Headmaster but somehow what had flowed from his pencil was different to what he had planned. The sketch of Albus Dumbledore was merely a remarkable likeness with none of the exaggerated features that the other drawings had possessed.

"Dumbledore's harder to do," Severus finally muttered. "We don't see him as often."

Lily nodded and tucked the parchment into her books and started to make her way down the staircase.

"Do you know what you're doing in detention?" Severus asked as he followed after her. He hoped it wasn't anything too dreadful.

"Something with Hagrid," Lily replied. "I'm not sure what."

"Hagrid's all right," he told her with a small smile. "He won't be too hard on you."

"I guess it depends on whether he liked his portrait or not," Lily commented with a wry smile of her own. "I've got to go down to his hut tomorrow morning at ten."

"What about Dumbledore's drawing?"

"I'm taking it to him now. He gave me the password when he spoke to me about doing detention with Hagrid," replied Lily, gesturing vaguely ahead of her, causing Severus to realise that they were indeed walking in the direction of Dumbledore's office, just around the corner.

His feet stopped moving almost involuntarily and Lily noticed he was no longer walking beside her a few paces later.

She stood and looked back at him with an understanding smile and he felt his face flush. If it had been anyone else he'd have thought they were trying to trick him into going to see Dumbledore, but he knew that Lily would never do something like that. She would let him make his own decision whether she approved of his choice or not.

Without a word she turned away and continued down the corridor. She had rounded the corner leading to the entrance to Dumbledore's before Severus had moved from his spot.

Distantly he heard the sound of the stonework moving, revealing the entrance to the Headmaster's office. He wondered if Lily had been in the office before or whether this was her first visit there.

He remembered the trepidation he'd first felt in walking into Dumbledore's office and suddenly his feet were moving again. He didn't want Lily to walk in there alone. It didn't mean he had to confess to his role…Dumbledore would never know the part he'd played. He'd just be there to support Lily.

He turned the corner expecting to see Lily stepping onto the staircase but she had already disappeared. The entrance was sealed once more and Severus was too late to stand at her side.

He tried the password that McGonagall had used the month before but was not surprised to see that it no longer worked.

Severus leaned back against the opposite wall as he wondered what was happening on the floor above him.

"Hey _Snivellus, _you in trouble?"

Severus groaned at the sound of the annoyingly familiar voice shouting gleefully down the corridor.

"I'll bet he's about to be expelled!" Sirius replied with a smirk.

Severus slipped his hand into his robes and grasped his wand, waiting for the attack to come.

"Thinks he can take us on again, does he?" James laughed and casually pulled out his wand.

"Glutton for punishment," Sirius agreed.

Severus's eyes darted from one boy to the other, both of them now holding their wands menacingly towards him.

Unlike them he knew that within a matter of minutes Lily would reappear from upstairs, maybe even with Dumbledore behind her. With their backs to the entrance they wouldn't see the entrance opening, would they hear it if he could keep them talking?

"Well what you waiting for _Snivelly_?" sneered James as he prodded Severus in the chest with the tip of his wand.

"I think he's frozen in fear," Sirius crowed.

"Maybe he can join the gargoyles here," James suggested. "With a face like his, he'd fit right in."

"Nah." Sirius shook his head. "He's too stupid to remember the password. No one would ever get in to see Dumbledore."

Severus's grip tightened on his wand and he willed the entrance to open.

Between the insults and guffaws of laughter from James and Sirius he heard the telltale sound of shifting stones.

He didn't know whether it was the sounds of the scraping stones or his own eyes repeatedly darting to the entrance that gave away to the other boys that someone was approaching.

Whatever it was, they lowered their wands. They didn't put them away but Severus could tell that they were standing in positions that ensured that whoever was descending the stairs couldn't see they had them out at first glance.

"So have you finished McGonagall's essay?" Sirius asked James in an obvious attempt to make it look as though the three boys were simply chatting and that it was mere coincidence that they had chosen to have their conversation outside the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

A moment later Lily appeared. There was a bright smile lingering on her face, a sure sign that Dumbledore had liked the drawing. Severus breathed a sigh on relief.

"Look _Snivellus,_ it's your girlfriend," joked Sirius nastily when it was clear that Lily was alone.

Severus flushed as he pulled out his wand. He hadn't even thought of what hex to cast when Lily grabbed his arm and dragged him away. "Just ignore them," she implored.

Severus shoved his wand back into his robes, shot a final glare at the still laughing Gryffindor boys, and followed Lily around the corner.

"Did he like the drawing?" Severus asked once he was sure that no one was nearby to hear them.

"I think so," Lily replied. "He smiled but I think he was expecting a funny one like the others."

"He didn't ask for another, did he?" Severus questioned.

"No," said Lily with a shake of her head.

"I was going to come in with you." Severus felt he had to at least explain that he'd tried to accompany her. "I didn't know the new password."

"You were?" Lily asked in surprise.

Severus felt himself flush again as he nodded.

"Have you seen inside his office?" Lily asked. "He let me meet Fawkes."

Severus nodded again. Clearly Lily had been far braver than he had in facing the Headmaster. Far from the bundle of nerves he had been reduced to, Lily was instead delighted at seeing both the office and Dumbledore's famous phoenix.

They continued to talk, or rather Lily talked and Severus listened, until they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor quarters. They said their goodnights and Severus turned back down the stairs towards the Slytherin dungeon wondering idly what it would have been like to follow Lily into the tower and carry on with their discussion.

* * *

Severus didn't sleep well that Friday night, and unlike the rest of the first years he was wide-awake well before dawn. 

Severus had eaten breakfast in an almost deserted Great Hall and was back in the common room finishing off his Potions homework when the sound of raised voices across the room drew his attention from his essay.

He looked across the room to see that a couple of third year students were on the receiving end of Lucius's temper. A few nearby students surreptitiously gathered their things together and furtively made their way out of the room. Severus decided to follow their example.

"Come on it's nearly ten!" called a voice in the entrance hall. "If we don't get to the pitch we'll lose our practice slot!"

Severus watched as the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain tried to hurry along a couple of his players who reluctantly appeared from the Great Hall, the remainder of their breakfast in their hands.

Ten o'clock he pondered. Lily would be making her way down to Hagrid's round about now.

He hadn't had any inclination to visit the Gamekeeper since the day he'd overheard him talking to the Gryffindor boys just after returning to school in January. He wondered what Lily would be doing for her detention and for the first time in over two months he found himself making his way to Hagrid's.

Hagrid's voice drifted to Severus as he made his way down the path to the hut.

"That's right, now let's start the next 'en."

The voice was coming from behind his hut where Severus knew the pumpkin patch was located.

Severus turned the corner to see Hagrid digging steadily at the far side of the now empty pumpkin patch and Lily following behind him carefully placing seeds in the newly dug row of soil.

"I see we got company," Hagrid said as he turned round at the end of the row.

"Severus!" Lily called out and waved, several seeds escaping from her hands in the process.

"Are you planting pumpkins?" Severus asked as he walked around the edge of the soil.

"Nah," Hagrid replied with a shake of his head. "Too early for 'em. Just some lettuces, an' onions…maybe a few peas. Poppy likes a supply of fresh veg for 'er patients' meals. An' yer can't get no fresher than this."

Severus hovered near the edge of the hut, feeling out of place as he watched Hagrid and Lily begin work on the next row.

"Yer wanna give us an 'and," Hagrid called across to him a minute later when it was clear that Severus wasn't going to leave. "I know yer 'aven't got detention like Lily 'ere but if yer at a loose end…"

Severus was at Lily's side awaiting Hagrid's instructions before the Gamekeeper had even finished speaking.

They worked steadily throughout the morning and when the final row of seeds was planted, Hagrid invited them into his hut for a quick cup of tea that soon stretched out into another hour.

Eventually though Hagrid ushered them out of his home and back to the castle for lunch.

"That was the best detention ever!" Lily exclaimed as they sauntered up the path. "I want to do all my detentions with Hagrid from now on."

"You like to garden?" Severus asked.

"I help my dad in our garden at home sometimes," Lily replied. "What about you?"

"We don't have a garden," Severus muttered in response, thinking of the house he lived in that was so different to Lily's comfortable home.

As thoughts of his home entered his mind the pleasure of the morning began to evaporate.

"There's Professor Dumbledore," Lily commented as they approached the castle.

Severus looked up at her words and saw that the Headmaster was indeed directly ahead of them and walking in their direction.

"Miss Evans, Mr Snape," he greeted them as they approached him.

"Be sure to wash your hands before lunch," he advised. "Gardening can be rather messy, if very enjoyable and fulfilling."

They both nodded in response and continued on their way. Severus had gone only a few paces when he felt the need to turn back towards the path. Dumbledore stood right where they had left him and was looking towards them with a smile.

He knew!

Severus somehow knew that Dumbledore was well aware of his part in the drawings of the staff. He also knew instinctively that the Headmaster approved of his helping Hagrid alongside Lily during her detention. He may not have found the courage the stand up and confess to his actions but in a small way he'd begun to make amends.

* * *

_Author Notes: Yep, more notes. The next update will be on the Lupin Origins story. I will also be posting my Spinners End comedy story here shortly since I know at least a couple of people are waiting for it since I deleted it from the CoSForums a few months ago. There will also be a couple of DH Snape POV, Epilogue type pieces that are also already written. _


	42. Hogwarts: A History Mystery

**Part 42 – Hogwarts: A History Mystery**

"Hey! Severus!"

Severus groaned as he heard the silky tones of Lucius calling from across the common room. He turned to face the older boy, a forced smile on his face.

"You'll be passing the library on the way to class this morning, won't you?" Lucius asked.

"No," Severus replied with a shake of his head. He tried to continue on and explain that he actually had flying that morning and wouldn't be passing the library at all but Lucius clearly wasn't listening and cut him off with an airy wave of his hand.

"Well you'll be passing some time over the next few days and it won't be any trouble to drop this book back in will it?" Lucius held out the book and waited for Severus to take the same from him.

Severus looked in dismay at the _Hogwarts: A History_ book that had caused so much grief to Justin earlier in the month.

"Won't you be going to the library before me?" asked Severus, without moving to take the volume from Lucius. "You've far more free classes than me."

"_I_ have NEWT level work to do," Lucius replied with a glare. "_You_ can't imagine the amount of time it takes up to get through all of our assignments."

"B-but isn't that book from the restricted section?" Severus asked nervously, pointing to the hook attached to the spine that was used to keep it chained to the shelves.

"Oh, so it is," Lucius commented as he looked at the hook. Severus could tell that despite his pretence at ignorance he knew very well where the book had come from. "You'd better get it back to the Pince quickly in case you're caught with it in your possession."

"But why c-c-can't you take it b-b-back?" Severus stammered. "You're allowed b-books from there. I'll get in t-t-t-trouble."

"I thought _you_ had brains," Lucius sneered. "Just take it in with a bunch of other books, leave them with Pince and leave before she gets to it. As long as she gets the books back she'll never notice who brought them in."

"I don't have any books to take back at the moment," Severus mumbled.

"So go and check some out," Lucius snapped. "Just don't get caught with this book in the meantime."

Severus knew there was nothing else he could say to get out of the latest of Lucius's errands and wondered why he'd even bothered to try. He took the book reluctantly and turned back towards the dormitories to hide it until he could return it without drawing attention to himself. He spotted Justin sitting near the fireplace; the other boy shrugged and cast him a look of sympathy before turning away.

Severus buried the book under his bed and wondered once again why it was that Lucius had wanted this specific edition of the book. His own copy of the book was safe at home but he wondered if Lily had her own copy at the school. He knew that she'd purchased one and made a point to ask her about it as soon as he saw her. In the meantime the copy from the restricted section could remain hidden.

----------------------------------------------------

"Yes, I've got my copy here," Lily answered as she took aim at the oncoming bludger and sent it careering across the field to where James and Sirius were messing around by juggling three of the quaffles between themselves.

"Excellent aim Evans," Madam Hooch called out as James and Sirius dropped the quaffles and swerved out of the way. "A bit more strength behind it and we'll make a beater of you yet."

"Not that excellent," Severus commented. "You missed both of them."

"Their heads are getting bigger by the day," Lily retorted. "By the end of the year anyone will be able to hit those targets."

Severus laughed but his mirth was soon cut short by a bludger aimed his own way by Peter.

"So can I borrow your book?" Severus asked once they were back on the ground after the lesson was over.

"Sure," Lily replied. "I'll fetch it after lunch and let you have it in Herbology."

"Thanks."

"What do you want it for anyway? I thought you had your own copy."

"It's at home and I wanted to check something in it."

"What do you want to check?" Lily asked curiously.

Severus hesitated to reply, not sure that he wanted Lily to know that he had a book in his possession that he shouldn't have.

Lily looked at him steadily as she waited for an answer and Severus mumbled a nonsensical reply before looking away.

"Well you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Lily muttered. "I only thought you might be looking up something I've remembered and could save you the time."

Severus sighed as he realised that he'd inadvertently hurt Lily's feelings by not answering her question. He turned to apologise but she'd already disappeared down the corridor. He wondered whether she was still going to let him borrow the book but was not prepared to hurry after her and ask.

------------------------------------------------

Herbology was the last class of the afternoon and Severus found himself at the opposite end of the greenhouse to Lily. He had no way of telling whether she had brought the book for him or not. Unfortunately Lily and the book were on his mind far more than the plants he was supposed to be tending and he found himself covered in scratches from the prickly plants by the time the lesson ended.

"And here was me thinking he couldn't be as bad in any subject as he is in flying," James snickered as he caught sight of Severus's scratches.

"I don't know," Sirius commented idly. "He got a D on that History of Magic essay last week."

"Everyone got a D on that essay," Remus pointed out. "I doubt Binns read any of them."

"I didn't get a D," Sirius replied with a smirk.

"Only because you didn't hand it in at all and Binns never noticed," James laughed.

Severus ignored them and ducked out the greenhouse door whilst they were distracted by teasing each other.

"Severus, hold on," Lily called after him as he made his way back to the main school. "I've got that book for you."

"What's that?" James asked. "_Broomsticks for Babies_?"

Severus turned just in time to see Lily shoot a venomous look at James as she pushed past him and made her way out into the open. She hurried across to him even as she rummaged around in her bag, finally pulling out a rather battered copy of _Hogwarts: A History_.

"Thanks," Severus muttered. "I'll let you have it back by the end of the week."

Lily shrugged. "Keep it as long as you want. With so many reading assignments for classes I hardly have time to open it anyway."

Severus nodded as he tucked the book into his own bag and carried on his way.

"You're still not going to tell me what you want it for?" Lily asked. Severus jumped slightly at the sound of her voice; he'd not even noticed his friend keeping pace alongside of him.

Severus looked at the ground, towards the school, back to the greenhouses and at the ground again before he looked at the slightly impatient Lily awaiting his answer.

"I just don't want you to get into trouble," he finally offered.

"Why would you get in trouble for looking up something in that?" Lily asked. "It's a popular book and quite a few students have their own copies."

"I want to compare it to another copy," Severus admitted. "One that's from the restricted section."

"Why would a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ be in the restricted section?" Lily asked in confusion.

"I don't know. That's why I want to compare the new edition with the older one."

"Is it one of the original copies?" Lily asked after pondering his words for a few moments.

"No, that's what's so confusing."

"Well I'm sure we'll figure it out," Lily said with a smile. "Do you have it with you?"

"No, it's hidden in the dormitory."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Lily asked. "Go fetch it and meet me in the entrance hall."

"We don't need to look at it today," Severus pointed out.

"You've got Astronomy tonight so you'll be up late anyway. You go get the book, I'll get some food from the kitchens and we can have dinner in one of the classrooms and look at the book at the same time."

Severus suppressed a small smile as he realised that Lily knew his timetable as well as he knew hers. He could see that there would be no point in arguing with her any further. Now she knew what he wanted her copy of the book for she appeared to be as curious as he was about why the book was in the restricted section.

Ten minutes later and Severus and Lily were ensconced in an empty classroom with a pile of cakes from the kitchens.

Lily smirked as Severus saw what she had acquired for their tea. "The house elves seem to like me. They always give me the best stuff when I go into the kitchens."

"You go there often?" Severus asked.

"Sometimes at night we have midnight feasts," Lily replied. "Don't you have them in Slytherin?"

"Sometimes," confirmed Severus as he silently wondered what it would be like to join in one of the midnight parties in the Gryffindor quarters. Somehow the Slytherin feasts centred around Lucius and his friends and everyone else spent the night running around after them.

"We'll have to find somewhere to have a midnight feast for students from both our houses," Lily suggested, her thoughts clearly having gone in a similar direction to his own. "Veronica will probably be up for it and you can bring one of your friends from Slytherin."

"I guess Justin might like to join in," Severus agreed.

"How about Wednesday night then?" Lily asked. "We can relax a bit before the Potions test on Thursday morning."

"Like you need to study at all," Severus commented with a snort.

Lily glowed with pride at his praise before turning to the two books. "Well let's take one each and go through them together to see what's extra," she said as she took her own book back from Severus and settled down at one of the desks.

An hour later and they had skimmed through half the contents of the books but still had no clue as to what they were looking for.

"How did you get this book from the restricted section anyway?" asked Lily as she leaned back stretching.

"I didn't," Severus told her. "Lucius had one of the other first years sneak in to get it for him."

"Why didn't he get it himself?" Lily asked. "He's allowed in there."

"I don't know," Severus admitted. "I thought maybe the answer might be in the book itself. He asked me to take it back for him so I thought I'd look at it properly before I do."

"But you could get into trouble for having this book," Lily pointed out.

Severus shrugged. She wasn't telling him anything he didn't already know.

"I thought he was your friend," Lily continued.

"He is!" Severus replied, feeling all the more defensive because Lily was only speaking aloud thoughts he had had too.

Lily looked like she was going to say something else but apparently thought better of it. She turned back to the book and they started checking the next chapter.

"Awards and Honours Bestowed by Hogwarts," Lily read aloud. "It looks like the current list is longer than the older one," she added as she looked at Severus's book.

"Makes sense that they'd have added some over the years," Severus replied as he skimmed the list.

Lily turned over the page of her book. "Awards and Honours Received by Hogwarts," she continued.

Severus turned over his own page and drew in a breath when he realised that there was more to the chapter in the volume he had. A horrible thought entered his mind as soon as he saw the contents of the next page but rather than give voice to his suspicions he turned the page again to find the start of the chapter that matched Lily's.

Lily hadn't noticed Severus's reaction and continued to skim the contents until he had to leave for his Astronomy class.

Severus hurried to the classroom in the tower with the suspicion of what he had seen firmly lodged in his mind.

The older edition of _Hogwart's: A History_ contained details of the exact spells that protected the awards and cups that were kept in the Trophy Room. It was natural to assume that they'd been removed at some point for security reasons.

"But thefts were occurring before Lucius borrowed the book," Severus muttered to himself as he climbed the winding staircase.

Unless there were some spells he couldn't get past, Severus reasoned to himself.

He already knew that Lucius had no qualms about taking potions ingredients from the school supplies rather than getting his own. He saw the school items as his own because of the money his family had donated over the years.

But why take the cups?

He couldn't sell them on any more than anyone else could. Even if he could, he certainly didn't need the money. The Malfoys were amongst the most wealthy of the pure-blood families and one of the few that hadn't gone into decline over the centuries.

It didn't make sense and Severus wondered whether his overactive imagination was playing tricks on him.

Whatever the case he knew that he couldn't go to the teachers with his suspicions. He had no proof at all, Lucius had no motive and he would risk getting into trouble himself for being in possession of a book from the restricted section.

If he was right about the identity of the thief he would have to figure it out for himself before going to those in authority.

But, he thought to himself, perhaps Lucius had a good reason for what he'd done. He was his friend and a small part of him was reluctant to get the older boy into trouble at all.


	43. Midnight Wanderings

**Part 43 – Midnight Wanderings**

Two days later and Severus had memorised the extra information that was in the school's copy of _Hogwarts: A History_. Unfortunately he was still no further on in figuring out the rest of the mystery that was now plaguing him.

He was distracted in his classes and found himself looking forward to a detention on Saturday morning, courtesy of Professor McGonagall.

He'd deposited the school's copy of the book on Madam Pince's desk on Wednesday morning. He hoped it wouldn't be spotted in the midst of the pile of books that Lily had obtained from various Gryffindor students. He hadn't waited to find out and had quickly bolted for the door as soon as they'd hit the desk.

By the end of the day he felt that he was in the clear and that Madam Pince either hadn't noticed the book or had assumed that Lucius, whose name was on the card after all, had sent it with him. If the latter was the case then Severus sincerely hoped that Lucius would be the one that the ever-vigilant librarian would be hounding.

Determined to enjoy the rest of the day, and more especially the midnight feast, Severus pushed the matter of the book from his mind. Instead he set himself the task of persuading Justin who, since their shared trials under the orders of Lucius, had been the most friendly of the first year students.

"Why would I want to risk getting caught wandering the school at night?" Justin asked with a scowl as he looked up from his essay.

"I thought you might like some fun. The older students do it all the time." Severus replied with a shrug.

"No they don't," Justin pointed out. "They have the fun right here in the common room and the first and second years take all the risks out in the main school. Seems pointless to risk getting caught."

"Well, I guess if you don't want to," Severus muttered. "Only I heard the house elves are making a batch of traditional shortbread for Professor McGonagall."

"Really?" Justin asked, showing far more interest than he had so far.

"Loads of it," Severus confirmed with a nod, knowing that Justin had a liking for the sweet dessert.

"I miss my Gran's shortbread since coming to school," said Justin, almost to himself.

Severus sat quietly as he waited for Justin to make up his mind. Finally the other boy reached a decision and confirmed that he was in.

"So who else is going to be there?" Justin asked.

"A couple of the girls from Gryffindor," Severus replied, wondering if his reply would give Justin a reason to change his mind. The rivalry between the two houses was an ongoing problem and as far as he knew only a handful of Slytherin students had friends from Gryffindor.

"No one else from Slytherin?"

"The way Martin eats?" Severus asked with a smirk.

"Good point," Justin replied with a smirk of his own.

Pleased that his invitation had been accepted, Severus pulled out his own homework and hurried through it as quickly as he was able.

By the time he was done most of the Slytherins had retreated to the dormitories and it was nearly time for him to meet Lily.

They were just approaching the staircase to the entrance hall when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Severus slipped back into the shadows with Justin close behind him, as they waited for whoever it was to pass by.

"Who is it?" Justin whispered.

Severus crept up a couple more steps and cautiously poked his head into the entrance. He ducked back quickly when he saw Professor Knott-Bolt stalking across the hall.

"Maybe we should go back?" Justin suggested after Severus had whispered who he had seen.

"He's heading upstairs," Severus whispered back. "I wonder what he's doing wandering about so late."

"He'll be securing the doors to the rooms with valuables in," Justin hissed. "Weren't you listening to Dumbledore after the announcement about the last theft? They've added more security and Knott-Bolt is in charge of it."

"As long as they haven't secured the kitchen," Severus replied.

"No point with all the house elves in there," Justin pointed out. "They're supposed to stop students from pilfering food."

Severus eased his way back up the stairs and once he saw that the coast was clear they hurried across the entrance towards the stairs leading down to the kitchens. "They're not doing a very good job of it," he commented as he tickled the pear and stepped through into the room.

Lily and Veronica had arrived before them and were perched on stools as the house elves scurried to do their bidding.

Severus and Justin pulled out stools of their own and placed their orders with the elves.

"Shortbread, certainly young master," one of the house elves said before disappearing out of sight for Justin.

"They're so helpful," Lily said with a smile. "Look at all of this food. We'll never be able to eat it all."

For the next few minutes the house elves continued to pile treats on the table.

They were just about to start gathering the goodies together when they heard the unmistakable sound of movement coming from the corridor outside.

"Is it a teacher?" Veronica whispered.

"Giggling?" Lily replied as the sound of more mischief makers became apparent.

A moment later the entrance opened to reveal James Potter and Sirius Black at the front of what seemed to be a small crowd.

"_Snivellus_," Sirius muttered with a nasty smile.

Severus was reaching for his wand before he'd even had time to think about what he was doing.

"Just ignore him," Lily said, giving him a nudge. Severus pulled his hand away from his wand and gripped the edge of the table instead.

Justin meanwhile was equally annoyed at the unwanted arrival of the others. "We were here first," he said as he pulled out his wand and pointed it towards Sirius and James.

"Students share, students share," one of the house elves said pleadingly. "Plenty to go around."

"Share with Slytherins?" James looked aghast at the very idea. For once Severus was inclined to agree with him that sharing was not likely to happen. It seemed however that someone else had taken offence at his words.

"Hey!" a female voice declared from behind James. Severus watched as Andromeda Black poked James in the back and walked past him into the kitchen.

"Sorry," James muttered. "Forgot you were that house. You're more normal than the rest of 'em."

"I have some friends in my own house who'd disagree with that," Andromeda said, the warning in her voice clear. "Of course we can share," she added to the nearest house elf who looked relieved at her words.

"I'm sure we can all get along for an hour or two," Remus added.

"We'll need more food though," Peter pointed out and the rest nodded in agreement. Severus nodded too. He'd seen Andromeda go up against her sisters on several occasions during the year and he knew she could hold her own against them. He didn't like the idea of getting on the wrong side of her.

The house elves were happy to oblige with the request for more food and it wasn't long before they were loaded down with more than enough to go around.

"So where are we headed?" James asked as they filed back into the corridor. "You did find somewhere for us to have our party, didn't you?"

"I thought we could use one of the empty classrooms," Sirius replied as he juggled a bottle of pumpkin juice from one hand to the other.

"We were going to head to one of the second floor ones that aren't used for regular classes," Veronica piped up.

"First years," Ted muttered. "Gotta love 'em."

"You got a better idea?" Sirius asked.

"The room of requirement of course," Ted replied. "Found out about it in my second year and it's come in right handy over years."

"What's the room of requirement?" Severus asked, his question echoed by several of the others.

"Best room in Hogwarts," Andromeda said. "Lead the way Ted. You'll love it."

Severus trailed after the rest of the group as they made their way to the seventh floor. He found himself walking a little behind the rest of the group with Justin at his side.

"I can't believe we're hanging around with mudbloods," Justin hissed.

"Be quiet," Severus implored in a low tone. "She might hear you."

"You _did_ know her parents are muggles?" Justin asked with a nod towards Lily. Severus felt himself bristling at the other boy's tone.

"My dad's a muggle as well," Severus pointed out.

"Considering what you think of him, I'd have thought you'd hate all muggles," Justin muttered.

"What would you know about my dad?"

"You talk in your sleep," Justin replied.

"I do?" asked Severus. He came to a halt as he looked at his friend in astonishment.

"Didn't you know?" asked Justin as he too stood still and let the rest of the group go on ahead.

Severus shook his head, speechless, as he wondered what else he might have said in his sleep.

"Thought you'd keep your distance from muggles with a dad like him," Justin continued.

"Lily's parents are nice to me," Severus said defensively.

"You've _met_ them?" Justin asked in shock.

Severus nodded and shrugged. The rest of the group was turning the corner at the end of the corridor and he started after them in case they lost them.

They had almost reached the rest of the group when Severus realised that Justin had used the word mudbloods, indicating more than one. He wondered which of the others in the group had muggles for parents.

Before he could ask Justin who else he'd been referring to they had caught up with the others and had arrived at the seventh floor corridor.

He looked on in amazement as a door appeared in the wall in front of them.

"After you," Ted said as he waved everyone inside.

Severus looked around the room and made a point to suggest to Lily that they hold their study group sessions there in the future. It was surely the last place where they would be stumbled upon.

The room was perfect for their needs. There were more than enough comfy chairs and sofas inside the room and a roaring fire making the large room nice and warm. There were plenty of tables for them to place the food and drinks on and plates and cutlery stacked up ready for them to use.

A wizard wireless was set up near an open space on the far side of the room and Andromeda made her way across the room to tune it to a station with lively dance music playing.

"Won't the professors hear it?" Lily asked.

"The room's soundproof," Ted replied. "And the door will have sealed behind us so no one can follow us in here."

Perfect, Severus thought to himself. Lily would have to agree that the place was ideal for their meetings.

"I'm surprised the teachers don't use this room themselves," Sirius commented.

"They do when they need it," Ted confirmed. "But the room is different depending on what you want it for. It only appears when someone has a real need for it and is equipped for whatever you want it for."

"So why did you go to the kitchens for food?" Severus asked, curious to know whether the room had any sort of limitations on what it could do.

"It can't make food or drink appear," Andromeda said. "Though we've tried it often enough just to make sure."

"Trust _Snivellus _to ask a stupid question like that," James muttered with a smirk at Sirius. Severus glared across the room but didn't have a chance to say anything before Ted spoke.

"It's not a stupid question at all," Ted said with a harsh look at James. "The room can produce other things that seem more complicated than simple food. And I asked the same question myself when I was told about this place."

Severus nodded at the information Ted provided, immensely pleased that someone had so neatly put James in his place.

Once everyone was settled Severus decided to go across to Justin to pick up their earlier conversation where they had left off. He hadn't moved more than a pace though when he felt Lily's hand on his arm and found himself being towed in the opposite direction.

"Let's go talk to Remus," Lily suggested with a smile.

Severus didn't bother to argue with her but he made sure that it was clear to the other boy that he was there under protest and not because he wanted to speak to him.

Lily chattered away and Severus gave the occasional nod to show he was listening.

The longer he stood there the more he began to think that Lily and Remus were excluding him from their discussion. She seemed to laugh far more frequently when talking to Remus than she did when speaking with him.

He looked across the room and saw that James was holding court along with Sirius as Peter and Veronica sat hanging on their every word.

Andromeda and Ted were talking together across the room and Justin was standing alone near the entrance.

He wondered if Lily would even notice if he went to talk to Justin. He eased away from them and headed towards the other boy. He glanced back once when he reached Justin and tried to stifle the feeling of disappointment that Lily hadn't followed after him.

"Andromeda's playing with fire," Justin commented under his breath. "Bellatrix will do her nut if she finds out she's still seeing Ted."

"Doesn't she like him?" Severus asked. "I thought most of the rivalry was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, not Hufflepuff."

"It is," Justin said. "But he's a mudblood."

"He is?" Severus asked as he looked over to Ted and Andromeda. Playing with fire was putting it mildly.

Justin nodded knowingly.

Severus suddenly found that his appetite had gone and as Justin turned towards the table he found himself wandering back towards Lily. He was halfway across the room when he realised that Sirius was also heading in that direction. He groaned slightly but continued on his way, catching the tail end of the conversation as he approached.

"Didn't want to ruin James's birthday with bad news," Remus lied. "But they're going to see how she goes for a couple of weeks and only summon me home if it's really necessary."

"You're going home _again_?" Severus blurted out before he could stop himself from speaking to the other boy.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Sirius snapped.

"I don't know yet," Remus interrupted.

It was clear that he wasn't going to say anything further and the conversation seemed to have stopped at his approach. He tried not to feel resentful at being shut out of the discussion but it was almost impossible not to.

It wasn't much later when the party began to break up and everyone made their way back to their common rooms.

Severus found himself walking alongside Andromeda as Justin hurried on ahead of them. He wondered whether she'd be offended if he asked her how she managed to keep her friendship with Ted a secret from the rest of the Slytherins. He wondered whether she was worried that either he or Justin would say something to expose her to her sisters' anger.

Unfortunately he spent too much time wondering what to say and the opportunity to say anything at all passed him by.

"Goodnight Severus," Andromeda said before she disappeared to the girls' dormitory.

Severus stood alone in the common room, wondering if he'd have another chance to speak to her.


	44. Sev

**Part 44 – Sev **

By the end of the following week Severus was really regretting not having spoken with Andromeda.

She was surprisingly hard to track down now that he wanted to speak with her and whenever he did manage to find her she was constantly surrounded with a group of friends.

Now that he knew about her friendship with Ted, Severus realised that several of the discussions he'd heard over the months between Narcissa and Bellatrix were making a lot more sense.

He knew that Justin was entirely accurate when he said that Andromeda was playing with fire.

Severus found himself thinking that he wouldn't want to be in her shoes if she got caught. Then he remembered that he was in an entirely similar position with Lily and knew that Andromeda believed, as much as he did, that it was worth the risk.

On more positive note, Severus had been delighted that Lily had wholeheartedly agreed with his idea to use the room of requirement for their study group sessions. Veronica, who had been with them the night of the party, had already seen the room in action. Dave, the final member of the group, had been quickly convinced as soon as he'd seen the volumes of books that had appeared for their first meeting. Even without the additional bonus of being out of sight of the rest of the Slytherins the room was a far improvement on the library.

Severus had also started making regular visits to Hagrid's hut during his spare time at the weekends. Since his sort-of detention he'd no longer felt apprehensive about visiting the gamekeeper and was relieved that James and his friends didn't seem to visit the older man. When he'd casually asked if they were expected he'd discovered that they'd only visited on a few occasions, those being when checking on Remus's injured owl. Hagrid sounded a little disappointed that they hadn't come by again but shrugged it off.

Lily on the other hand was a very frequent visitor and Severus often found that she was there before he was or arriving soon after. She and Hagrid got along wonderfully and the gamekeeper always brightened up the moment he saw her coming down the path.

"Long time since I 'ad students visit this often," Hagrid said as he hurried them back to the school one Sunday night. "But you don't want to be missin' supper 'cos of me. Yer too skinny by 'alf lad."

Severus wished that he'd gained enough weight during the year to avoid these sorts of comments but had quickly realised that no matter how much he ate, he didn't seem to gain so much as a single pound. He was about to mutter something to that effect when he felt Lily's arm slip through his. "Sev's fine the way he is," she said with a grin.

_Sev?_ Severus raised his eyebrows at his friend in silent question.

They were halfway back to the school when he finally found his voice. "Sev?" he asked. "Where'd that come from?"

"Don't you like it?" Lily asked. Disappointment was evident in her tone and she slowed her pace to a standstill.

"I don't know," Severus admitted. "It seems…I don't know…odd."

"I know you hate the way that James and Sirius keep changing your name," Lily explained. "I thought if I had a nice nickname for you it'd make up for that, and maybe cheer you up."

"It's a nice idea," Severus assured her. "Sev…Sev…Sev." He tested the name a few times to see how it sounded. "It sounds strange."

"Not after a while," Lily said. "You'll get used to it."

"You sound like you've been practising saying it," Severus suggested with a laugh. He realised immediately from her blushing face that Lily had indeed been testing the use of her new name for him.

"I had to find the right name for you," she mumbled in embarrassment. "I thought you'd like it."

"You can use it if you like," Severus offered. "I guess I'll get used to it."

"No." Lily shook her head. "It's no good if you don't like it."

Severus immediately felt sorry he'd even brought the subject of her new name for him up. He should have just let her use the name and quietly gotten used to it. He suspected that name would have been easier for him to accept than_Snivellus_. "I'm sorry," he mumbled quietly. "It's a nice name; I like it; really."

Lily looked at him hopefully but didn't say anything.

"Really," Severus repeated. "You can use it."

Lily smiled in relief and they carried on up the path towards the school. "Thanks Sev," she said as they turned the final corner towards the Entrance Hall.

Severus smiled. The name really wasn't so bad and he suspected that in a day or two it would sound as natural as his full name.

--------------------------------------

As it happened, Severus became used to his new name far quicker than he'd anticipated.

The following morning he heard the name as he sleepily made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Looking towards the sound he saw Lily waving at him as she descended the staircase. He looked instinctively towards the staircase to the Slytherin quarters and saw that no one was around. Assured that the coast was clear, he waited for Lily to arrive in the Entrance Hall.

His happiness was to be short-lived though and he heard the sounds of laughter from a little further up the stairs.

"Hey Sev?" James Potter called in a high-pitched mocking tone of voice. "Sevy?"

"Sevy-kins?" Peter Pettigrew suggested to the still howling James.

"Sevy-poos?" Sirius added.

"Never mind Sevy-kins," James called out. "You'll still be _Snivellus_ to us."

Severus had his wand out and was pointing it up the stairs before Lily could stop him. He screamed out a curse that had James erupting in boils.

"What did you do that for?" Lily asked with a sigh of frustration. "Now they'll just carry on all the more."

"Not to mention you'll now be spending your Saturday morning in detention," Professor McGonagall said as she appeared from inside the Great Hall. Severus looked at his shoes as she took one look at James and ordered him to the hospital wing.

"Maybe Hagrid will need help with his garden again," Lily whispered as soon as Professor McGonagall was out of sight.

"With all the work we've been doing there for the last few weeks?" Severus replied. "Knowing my luck, I'll probably end up doing something with Filch."

"Well while you're in detention you can at least imagine James in the hospital wing covered in boils," Lily said with a smile that betrayed that despite her disapproval she had found the sight of the other boy amusing.

"I'm surprised you're not telling me I should spend my time considering how I shouldn't have done it," Severus muttered.

"That too," Lily laughed.


	45. Playing with Fire

**Part 45 – Playing with Fire**

Severus sat in the Slytherin stands as the penultimate Quidditch match of the year, and the final match for the Slytherin team took place.

Like the rest of Slytherin house he was nearly hoarse from yelling out in support of their team. Of course, whether they won the cup this year was dependent on the final match of the season. If the Gryffindors won their match by a large enough margin they could still win the cup. The Slytherin team however were currently in first place and they were making sure that the number of points the Gryffindors had to make up was as many as possible.

The match had already been going on for an hour. The Slytherin team was leading with 400 points compared to 80 points for Hufflepuff.

Severus had seen that the Hufflepuff seeker had spotted the snitch several times but her team captain repeatedly signalled to her to leave it until they had caught up on points. Nearly everyone in the stands could tell that it wasn't going to happen, it was merely a question of waiting until the Hufflepuff captain had decided that enough was enough.

Something else Severus had noticed was the repeated bludger attacks on one of the Hufflepuff chasers. It was only when he spotted Andromeda Black flinching on her bench in front of him that he realised that the chaser in question was Ted Tonks.

Once he realised this, Severus began to take more notice of who the players were and soon spotted that the beater persistently sending the bludgers in the direction of Ted was Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix Black's boyfriend.

Andromeda's gaze was directed at Ted and Severus heard her gasp when a bludger nearly dismounted him from his broom.

Beside him Bellatrix cheered Rodolphus loudly. "Did you see that?" she asked Severus with a wide grin. "A bludger sent from so far away as that one but still with enough power behind it to knock the mudblood from his broom."

Severus nodded mutely and cheered as Lucius scored another goal for the team.

The match stretched on and Severus saw every flinch made by Andromeda as Rodolphus repeatedly sent bludgers in Ted's direction. He wondered why Madam Hooch didn't call him on it but soon realised that Rodolphus was operating within the rules of the game. Only just within the rules, but within them just the same.

The match continued for the rest of the afternoon, with many of the students returning to the school for something to eat. Severus remained where he was, as did Bellatrix and Andromeda.

He wasn't sure which concerned Andromeda the most – the events on the pitch or her sister's comments from the stands.

Finally when the score was Slytherins 540 and Hufflepuff 190 the Hufflepuff captain gave the signal to their seeker to go for the snitch and put an end to their misery.

The match was quickly wound up with the Hufflepuffs closing the gap for catching the snitch but losing the match on points.

The spectators began to move about and drift back towards the school eager to get to the Great Hall for dinner.

Severus was still in the middle of the stands and waiting for the students nearest to him to move when he heard the sound of a tight scream in front of him. He looked at the white-faced Andromeda and saw that she was looking at the ground of the pitch.

He knew, even if Bellatrix's cackle of laughter hadn't given it away, what had happened.

Although the match had been over for several minutes Rodolphus had sent one final bludger to the unsuspecting Ted Tonks. Ted was lying, unmoving, on the ground and Madam Hooch was hurrying towards him with an expression of concern on her face.

"Stupid mudblood should have stayed on the ground instead of trying to play Quidditch," Bellatrix laughed before she pushed her way past Severus and the other Slytherins to make her way to Rodolphus and the rest of the Slytherin team.

Severus looked at Andromeda who was sitting unmoving. She was gripping the front of the stands; her knuckles were as white as her face.

He watched as Madam Hooch conjured a stretcher and carefully levitated Ted onto it. Severus stood quietly as Madam Hooch directed the stretcher out of the pitch and towards the school. Andromeda still wasn't moving.

"You should go to the hospital wing," Severus whispered. Andromeda jumped in her seat at his words and swung round to face him. She'd clearly forgotten anyone else was even there.

She nodded mutely and Severus walked with her towards the school.

It was the first time he'd been alone with Andromeda since the midnight party but now wasn't the time to ask questions of her. He didn't say anything as they walked into the hospital wing and saw that Ted was already laid down on one of the beds. He was still unconscious and Andromeda let out an involuntary moan when she saw him lying motionless.

"Is he going to be all right?" Severus asked Madam Pomfrey as she hurriedly tended the young chaser.

"I expect so," she replied with a smile. "Nothing but a bump on the head. He'll be right as rain in the morning."

Severus heard the audible sigh of relief from Andromeda. It was all she'd been waiting for to come out of her stupor and she hurried to the side of the bed, pulling up a chair and grasping Ted's hand in her own.

Severus hovered a moment, unsure whether he should stay or whether his presence would be an intrusion on the private moment between the other two students.

"You can sit down if you like," Andromeda said, nodding to the empty chair on the other side of the bed.

Severus moved to the seat and sat down quietly. He looked at Ted and saw that close up he had even more bruises than might have been expected for a Quidditch player. He'd have a black eye in the morning and his jaw was already sporting a darkening bruise.

"Rodolphus was doing it on purpose, wasn't he?" Severus whispered, knowing the answer even before he spoke the question.

"Bellatrix saw us together in Hogsmeade last week," Andromeda replied quietly. "I thought maybe she hadn't spotted us. She didn't say anything at the time, or later. I thought…I hoped, that perhaps…" Her voice trailed off and she shook her head at her own foolishness.

"They were just waiting?" Severus guessed.

"Quidditch," Andromeda muttered. "A great game in some respects, but often merely used as an excuse to beat someone to a pulp and get away with it."

"I can't believe the Hufflepuff captain didn't end things sooner," Severus muttered. "Couldn't the rest of the team see what was happening?"

"Those who are on the team are as obsessed with the game as you can get," Andromeda replied with a snort of barely concealed contempt. "They don't see anything that stands in the way of their winning the match."

"Will they leave him alone now?" Severus asked. "I mean, well, they've…" He gestured towards the bed, even as he realised that putting Ted into the hospital wing following a game of Quidditch was not going to be enough to satisfy Bellatrix and the others.

"They'll only leave him alone if I do," Andromeda confirmed. "I have to wonder if he thinks I'm worth all this trouble though."

"I'm sure he does," a new voice said and Severus looked up to see that Sirius Black was standing at the end of the bed. "I thought I'd find you here when you didn't appear for dinner. I brought you some food."

He placed a pie and a sticky éclair on the bedside table and gave Andromeda a small hesitant pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks Sirius," Andromeda whispered. "Looks like the Gryffindors have their work cut out for them if they're going to win the cup," she added with somewhat forced humour.

"They'll manage it," Sirius replied with a grin. "We've got a great team this year."

"Even without the talented Sirius Black on it?" Andromeda teased.

"You knew I tried out for the team?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"_Everyone_ knew you tried out for the team," Andromeda laughed. "Cocky little first years try out every year, but only Sirius Black and his best friend James Potter are known for nearly making it."

"We are?" Sirius asked with a smug smile.

Severus watched the two cousins and they exchanged easy banter and he wondered why it was that Sirius seemed to hate him so much when clearly he was good friends with his cousin, who was as much a part of the Slytherin house as he was.

"I'll catch you later," Sirius finally said and he left the ward with a wave back at Andromeda.

"What is it?" Andromeda asked as she turned back to Severus. "Don't you get along with Sirius?"

Severus tried to school his expression into one that was less hostile but knew he was failing miserably. "_He_ doesn't get on with _me_," he muttered. "I thought he hated all Slytherins so it wasn't so bad. But I guess I was wrong."

"Sirius can be a bit difficult," Andromeda admitted. "But if you give him a chance you might find you get along with him."

"Fat chance," Severus muttered.

"Well you don't know if you don't try," Andromeda said with a shrug. "It's up to you. Sirius can be very loyal when he's your friend. You'd be surprised."

Severus shrugged. "Can I ask you something?"

"If you like," Andromeda replied. She didn't sound very curious about what it was he was going to ask and Severus had second thoughts as to whether he should say anything. "What is it?" she prompted after he'd been silent for a minute.

"I was wondering how you do it," Severus asked.

"Do what?"

"How you keep up a friendship with someone from one of the other houses when the rest of the Slytherins only seem to have friendships in their own houses. They really hate the Gryffindors."

"You hang out sometimes with that red headed girl in Gryffindor, don't you?" Andromeda asked. "What's her name again?"

"Lily," Severus replied immediately, knowing his face was lighting up just by saying her name.

"Quite a few Slytherins have friends in other houses," Andromeda explained. "Take Sirius. No one in Slytherin would have a problem with anyone being friends with him. He's from a pureblood family after all. If Ted was from a pureblood family no one would mind my dating him. But he's…"

"Muggleborn," Severus replied quietly.

"As long as your Lily is pureblood they won't have a problem with her. If she's a talented half blood like yourself then they'll probably turn a blind eye too."

"She's muggleborn," Severus whispered even as he felt a smile spreading over his face at the idea that Lily was his.

"Then you're playing with fire," Andromeda said quietly. "You just have to decide whether your friendship with her is worth the risk of being burned."

Severus nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't have any easy answers for you," Andromeda continued. "If there were a spell to sort out problems like these I'd have used one myself long ago. It's a matter of deciding what you want most and having the courage to take it."

"I don't know if I have that much courage," Severus whispered quietly.

"Then you'll lose her," Andromeda stated in a matter of fact tone.

Severus didn't know what to say to that but was saved from having to speak by Ted waking up. He quietly made his way from the hospital wing and headed back towards the Great Hall to see if there was any food left.

He replayed Andromeda's words in his head and wondered whether he had the same courage inside him that she had. He simply didn't know.


	46. Unmasked

Part 46 – Unmasked

Severus was having a bad day. Quite possibly it was the worst day he'd had since arriving at Hogwart's the previous September. After all, at least on the days he'd been unconscious in the hospital wing he wasn't able to remember anything afterwards.

It had started first thing in the morning when he'd been rudely awoken by the sound of half a dozen owls arriving in the dormitory courtesy of a couple of fifth year boys. The boys had apparently decided to let off a little steam in the middle of their OWLs by pulling this particular prank. Severus had been bitten twice as he and his fellow first years had struggled to get the birds out of the dungeons and back to the owlery.

He'd missed breakfast entirely and arrived late to Transfiguration earning himself a detention for his tardiness. The only consolation in this was that the class was shared with Hufflepuff and so he'd not had to see Potter and Black snickering at him.

Normally Wednesdays were quite an enjoyable day for Severus, most especially because there were no classes with Gryffindor on that day. On a good day he could actually manage to avoid them altogether. Unfortunately today was not a good day.

Moaning Myrtle had flooded her bathroom for the second time that year and Severus had found that he, and the rest of the Slytherins, were forced to take an irritatingly long detour in order to get to Charms class after lunch. Even more irritating this had resulted in Severus crossing paths with the Gryffindors who were loitering near the History of Magic classroom, waiting for an increasingly incompetent Professor Binns to remember he had a class at all and open the door to let them in.

Naturally Potter and Black were quick to spot him, resulting in a particularly annoying itching hex being tossed in his direction.

This of course lead to his Charms work being appalling due to the constant jerking of his movements every time an itch struck him at the wrong moment. Which resulted in him getting an extra essay to do for Professor Flitwick before their next lesson, which was unfortunately the very next day.

The tripping jinx he sent at Potter when he spotted him later that afternoon did little to make him feel better, especially when Black sent his own little present at him by way of a knee-reversing hex which sent him tumbling down the stairs.

All in all the day had been a bad one, and when Severus finally fell asleep it was on top of his extra Charms essay in the common room.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs woke him and he groaned when he realised he'd spilt his ink all over his essay, and would have to start it all over again. He was about to let out a few choice curses when the owner of the feet that had woken him walked into the room. From his shadowy corner of the room Severus could see that it was Lucius Malfoy who was wandering around in what was surely the middle of the night.

Severus watched curiously as Lucius left the common room and before he knew what he was doing he had forgotten all about his Charms essay and was following Lucius out into the main school.

Severus kept to the shadows and was careful not to be seen or heard as he followed the older boy through the labyrinth of corridors and towards the entrance hall. He was sure that Lucius was up to something and he was equally sure it had something to do with the thefts from the school. His breath caught in his throat as he realised that this was probably his one and only chance to solve the mystery that had been puzzling the entire school, staff and students alike.

Severus was somewhat surprised that Lucius didn't turn down the corridor that led to the Trophy Room but he continued to follow him nonetheless.

Lucius finally came to a halt in an empty classroom not far from the library. Severus hid himself in a nearby alcove, waiting for he knew not what. He could hear Lucius pacing in the classroom across from him and just when he was about to consider returning to the Slytherin quarters he heard the sounds of a second set of footsteps heading in his way. He shrank back, hoping that he was safely concealed in the darkness.

The figure passed him without a word and Severus could see that he was carefully concealed beneath a cloak.

"Right on time," Lucius stated. "Peeves will have another delivery for you shortly. Do you understand?"

"Yes," the voice replied in a dull monotone that Severus thought sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place.

"Excellent. Now this one is to be delivered to The Cat and Cauldron in Stoke. You will need to take it at eight o'clock on Saturday night. Deliver it to the same man as before. Tell no one of this."

"Er…"

"What?"

"I…"

"Damn," Lucius swore. "Looks like you're starting to think for yourself again Professor. We can't have that now, can we?"

"Er…"

"_Imperio!_" Lucius commanded before repeating his previous instructions. This time there was no hesitation or the hint of an argument from the other man.

Severus drew in a sharp breath as the footsteps made their way back towards him once more. Unable to resist a closer look he looked out of the alcove and saw Professor Knott-Bolt walking straight towards him.

He jumped back to hide once more and heard the sound of Lucius speaking again. Severus, even more curious, knowing that no one else had entered the classroom since the Professor had left, crept forward to see who Lucius was speaking to now.

Severus peered round the doorway and saw inside the room Lucius and Peeves. He watched in astonishment as Lucius pointed his wand at the pesky poltergeist.

"_Imperio!_" he commanded.

Severus shrank back slightly at hearing the unforgivable curse being used for the second time that night. He didn't move from the door though; he didn't want to miss anything that was happening inside the room.

"Now Peeves, I need you to go back to the Trophy Room," Lucius commanded. "You will need to bypass the same spells as last time, and obtain the trophy for Excellence in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Deliver it to Professor Knott-Bolt before noon on Saturday. And tell no one of this discussion."

Severus watched as Peeves nodded silently before disappearing, leaving Lucius alone once more.

"You will tell no one of this either," stated Lucius menacingly and Severus knew he'd been spotted.

"Why shouldn't I?" Severus asked. "You going to imperio me t-too?"

"That won't be necessary," Lucius replied with a cold smile. "You're practically one of us now. This is all for the Dark Lord."

"What do you mean?" Severus whispered.

"The Dark Lord asked for funds from the sale of the school cups he once won. Very few know of his name before he became Lord Voldemort. He intends to keep it that way by removing all trace of his presence from this school."

"Voldemort went to school here?"

"Of course. Though that was not the name he used at the time. Just as I have been setting you and the other potentials tasks to complete this year, so too has the Dark Lord been testing me. He is very pleased with my progress."

"What about Professor Knott-Bolt? Is he?"

"A Death Eater?" Lucius laughed. "Of course not. He is merely convenient. Were he one of us the imperius curse would be unnecessary."

"But the cups are famous and have spells on them, no one will buy them."

"Not in the wizarding world, no," Lucius agreed with a smirk. "Which brings me to the other reason you won't reveal what you've heard tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"No one in the wizarding world will buy the cups, but are easy enough to sell in the muggle community. Your father has been kind enough to assist us in this matter."

"My father?" Severus squeaked.

"We needed someone who was aware of the wizard community but also acquainted with the…er…shadier side of the muggle world."

"He wouldn't!" Severus snapped. His father had faults, he knew that better than anyone, but selling on stolen goods?

"Your father craves a position within the wizarding world," Lucius explained, even as Severus was shaking his head in denial. His father hated magic. "I have given him one."

"I don't believe it."

"Believe it or don't, but if you tell anyone about this it _will_ be your father going to Azkaban and not me. Do you have any idea what they do to muggles in Azkaban? They can't see the dementors but they can still feel the effects. They go mad in there even faster than wizards do, because they don't know what's happening to them."

"You'd go to Azkaban too," Severus pointed out.

"The trail doesn't lead back to me and you'll find there's no proof against me if you speak out. It'll be your word against mine: a school prefect, a model student, and the heir to one of the oldest and most respected, not to mention richest, families in the wizarding world. Now who do you think they'll believe?"

He was right, Severus realised. No one would believe him without proof and Lucius had made sure that all the dirty work was done by others: Peeves, Professor Knott-Bolt, his father.

Severus nodded silently and turned to leave the room. "I won't say anything," he said quietly. Then he ducked out of the door and made his way back to the Slytherin common room.

------------------------

A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading this far and for your patience in my taking so long to complete this. The story, as you have probably guessed is now reaching it's conclusion and I hope you enjoy the ending.


	47. The Gryffindor Within

Part 47 – The Gryffindor Within

Severus Snape was being stalked. There was simply no other word for it. Even when he thought that he was alone he could feel the telltale eyes on him and more often than not when he spun round he could see James Potter and his gang lurking somewhere nearby.

Remus just watched him, irritating as that was. But James and Sirius seemed to be using him for target practice for all his hexes. It was becoming rather tiresome.

Madam Pomfrey was irritated with him visiting her so frequently and Lily was convinced that he'd done something to incur the wrath of the other boys. He tried to make her see that this was not the case but each time he seemed to be making progress with her James or Sirius would pop up again and he'd be back on his way to the hospital wing.

"You must have done something to annoy them," Lily insisted impatiently.

Severus scowled at her. Why did she always assume it was his fault? Like he didn't have enough to worry about. They were in the middle of the end of year exams for Merlin's sake; he had better things to do with his time than spend it trailing after Potter and his friends.

Lily trailed after him as he strode down the corridor, half hoping that Potter might jump out and hex him right now, then perhaps Lily would see that he'd done nothing to irritate them.

"I think Malfoy's wanting to speak to you," Lily commented as she hurried to keep up with Severus. Severus groaned to himself. That was just what he needed, Lucius Malfoy making sure he was a good little recruit and hadn't told anyone about the thefts. Severus swore under his breath and received a slap on the arm from Lily for the trouble.

"Aren't you going to speak to him? It might be important."

"It's not."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do."

"But how?"

"Just drop it Lily," Severus snapped, instantly regretting his harshness as Lily jumped back in shock. "I'm sorry Lily. I didn't mean it."

"It's okay," Lily muttered. "But why don't you just tell me what's going on?"

Severus looked around to see if anyone was in earshot. "In here," he whispered as he pulled her into an empty classroom, hoping that the dark haired boy lurking a little further down the corridor wasn't who he thought it had been, namely Sirius Black.

"What is it?" Lily prompted him.

"I found out something I shouldn't have," Severus finally replied. "Something Lucius doesn't want me to tell anyone."

"What did you find out?" Lily whispered.

"It doesn't matter," Severus brushed her off.

"Of course it does," Lily insisted. "Has he threatened you? You should tell a teacher. Tell Professor Slughorn or someone."

"Professor Slughorn?" Severus laughed without humour. "Lucius has probably imperiused him too."

"What?"

Severus bit his tongue, furious with himself for what he'd let slip.

"You have to tell me what's going on," Lily insisted again. "Has Lucius put someone under the imperius curse? Is that what you meant?"

"I saw him," Severus finally admitted, his voice barely more than a whisper. "He imperiused Peeves and Professor Knott-Bolt, he's the one behind the thefts. Peeves has been getting past the spells and passing them to the teacher. He's been getting them out of the school."

"You have to go to Dumbledore," Lily stated firmly.

"I can't."

"Why ever not?"

"Lucius says my dad's involved. The cups can't be sold in the wizard world and my dad is selling them in the muggle world instead."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Severus couldn't hold back the sarcasm. "And Lucius is sure that he's covered his tracks well enough that he won't be implicated."

"But you can tell Dumbledore, he'll at least look into it."

"Why would he believe me?" Severus asked. "Lucius is a prefect, he's rich. Why would he steal a few school cups?"

"There must be a reason."

"Only that he's a Death Eater," Severus hissed back.

"But he's still in school?"

"So what? He admitted it to me."

"You have to tell Dumbledore."

"I can't," Severus replied, wishing he had the Gryffindor courage that Lily seemed to have in abundance.

"Then you have to catch him doing something incriminating," Lily replied.

"Like what?"

"Like catching him in the act."

"Impossible."

"Not if you know in advance what he's got planned."

"But I don't know," Severus replied dumbly.

"So go and speak with Lucius now and see what he has to say. Maybe he'll let something slip."

Severus nodded thoughtfully and they left the classroom but Lucius and all the other students had disappeared down to the Great Hall for lunch.

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Severus eventually located Lucius in the unusually deserted Slytherin common room after dinner. He guessed that most of the other students were studying in the library since they were now in the middle of the exams. "Justin said you were looking for me," he said by way of greeting.

Lucius looked up at him with a bright smile that was colder than a January morning.

Settling down in a nearby seat, Severus listened to Lucius and nodded dutifully that he'd kept his own counsel with regard to the thefts. Severus didn't have to say much as he found that Lucius was happy to do all the talking and was eager to brag for his seemingly willing audience about how he'd pulled off the biggest theft Hogwarts had ever seen.

Severus was starting to get sleepy when he realised that Lucius had just inadvertently given him the information he needed.

He smiled to himself and let his eyelids drift closed as sleep overtook him.

When he woke again Lucius had disappeared and Severus wondered whether he would hear more from him about how he'd rudely fallen asleep while being regaled with tales of how smart the Slytherin prefect was.

Thankfully the only comment Lucius made to him was that it was pointless staying up studying all night for silly things like exams when one had the favour of the Dark Lord. He said he hoped that by the time Severus was sitting his OWLs he wouldn't need to worry about them at all.

---------------------------------------------

Severus pulled Lily aside after their Potions exam and quickly filled her in on what Lucius had said.

"Saturday night?" Lily replied. "Are you sure?"

"He was bragging so much he was repeating himself," Severus confirmed with a snort. "He said the cups would be out of the school by then."

"Then we have to act fast," said Lily as she launched into her plan for sneaking out after hours and catching the culprits red-handed.

--------------------------------------------

On Saturday night Severus crept from his bed and out of the Slytherin quarters. He was meeting Lily in the Entrance Hall and he hoped that they weren't caught out of bed after hours. The punishment for such behaviour had only increased with each theft and if they were caught Severus suspected they would still be sitting their detentions next year.

"Severus?" Lily whispered from behind a suit of armour.

"Over here," Severus hissed back.

"I thought you weren't coming," Lily whispered. "We'll need to be careful though. James and his friends are out of bed too. They were lurking in the common room when I left. I…"

"You what?"

"I kind of got the feeling they were waiting for me," Lily finally replied.

"All we need is that bunch sticking their noses in," Severus muttered. "They will probably try and frame me for the thefts or something."

"Don't be so paranoid," Lily teased. "Come on, the teacher quarters are this way."

Severus nodded silently and followed after Lily who was hurrying up one staircase after another. Before too long they heard the sound of footsteps and ducked into a corridor to avoid being spotted.

"Professor Knott-Bolt," Severus breathed. "Right on time too."

"If we go this way we can get closer without being seen," Lily said, pointing to another corridor branching off the one they were in.

Severus took her word for it, he was quietly amazed at how well Lily knew the layout of the school. He knew the main routes between classes but still had difficulties if his journey required any deviation from the regular paths. Lily on the other hand was navigating the halls with an easy familiarity.

Unfortunately her navigation didn't take into account Potter and his gang.

"The kitchens are in the other direction," Potter pointed out with a smirk.

"Come on Sev," Lily whispered, pointedly ignoring James and steering Severus back in the direction they'd just come from.

"The kitchens?" he mouthed as Peter's voice drifted towards them.

"So who do we follow?"

Lily had heard him too and shot a glare back in the direction of the other boys.

"I said I was going to the kitchens for food for a midnight feast," Lily explained once they were out of earshot. "It was the best I could come up with on the spur of the moment."

"It's as good an excuse as any," Severus replied.

They doubled back the way they had come until they were once again following their imperiused professor.

"What's he waiting for?" he asked impatiently as the professor wandered aimlessly on the floor below them, totally clueless to the two spies over his head.

"Peeves. Here he comes, look," Lily murmured back. "And he has the cup."

Severus leaned further over the railing to see the two imperiused victims on the floor below.

"There's Remus," Lily whispered with a nod across the other side of the staircase. Sure enough when Severus followed her gaze he could see not only Remus, but the other three boys as well. "I don't think they've spotted us."

Severus agreed with her assessment; the other four boys were focused entirely on the scene below and were oblivious to the other watchers.

"Come on," Lily hissed as she pulled Severus back into the corridor and raced down the hall. "If we go this way we can cut Knott-Bolt off before he makes it to the front doors."

Lily sped down the stairs, Severus at her heels and they reached the Entrance Hall barely moments before their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Severus pulled Lily down a few of the stairs towards the Slytherin quarters.

"We have to stop him leaving the school," Lily whispered. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Just one," Severus replied as he spotted Potter and his friends following behind the professor. He supposed he should be grateful for them for appearing and reminding him of the first day of term when he'd used the tripping jinx that he was now contemplating using on a teacher.

"It's now or never," Lily warned.

Severus nodded, pulled out his wand and aimed it at the teacher as he hurried past them. The jinx worked as well as it had done James all those months ago. Professor Knott-Bolt tripped over his own feet and landed in a heap on the floor.

"He's not moving," Lily whispered. "I think he hit his head."

"We need to get out of here," Severus hissed.

"But we have to tell someone, we have to help him."

Then the main doors opened and Dumbledore strode in.

Severus watched quietly as they saw him take in the situation and lead the now standing Professor, and Potter and his gang who'd arrived in the hall, to his office.

"You don't think they'll get blamed for the jinx do you?" Lily asked.

"Dumbledore can always check their wands," Severus pointed out. "They'll just be in trouble for being out of bed."

"Like we are."

"So we should probably get back to the dorms now," Severus replied. "I mean, the thefts will stop now and they'll just forget about the others who were involved."

"But what if they think Professor Knott-Bolt was the only one involved?" Lily asked. "He could get fired."

"I'll send Dumbledore an anonymous note," Severus suggested after a moment of thought.

"Telling him everything?"

"Not about my dad," Severus hurriedly replied. "Just the rest of it."

Lily looked hesitant.

"It's probably what we should have done in the first place," Severus pointed out. "Just they wouldn't have believed it without proof. Now they have Professor Knott-Bolt with the cup in his hands. They have the proof and our note can fill in the rest for them."

Lily eventually nodded her agreement and together they quickly composed a note.

"How are we going to get it to him?" Lily asked.

"I'll go use a school owl," Severus replied. "That way they won't know who it came from and we won't get caught delivering it."

"And we've got every right to be in the owlery," Lily added.

It was perfect.

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Dumbledore knew the truth, Severus was sure about it. But for some reason he seemed to think that James Potter and his mischief making friends were responsible for the apprehension of the thieves of Hogwarts and for some reason Lucius Malfoy wasn't even implicated in the whole affair.

It just wasn't fair.

Realistically, Severus knew that there was only proof against the Professor, and maybe Peeves, but it still made his blood boil that Lucius had effectively slipped out of trouble so easily…just like he'd said he would. Professor Knott-Bolt on the other hand was going to be leaving quietly at the end of term and Peeves, well Peeves would just carry on as normal.

To cap it all off, Dumbledore had taken away the Slytherin victory of the house cup with last minute points for Potter and his friends for, of all things, their loyalty and endeavours on behalf of the school.

In that moment, shortly before the end of term feast had started, Severus had realised that Potter and his friends had taken the glory for the apprehension of the thief, the thief who would never have been unmasked without Severus's tripping jinx.

The only thing that made him feel slightly better was Lily's smug smile in his direction…at least the two of them knew the truth.

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Severus stood on the platform of Hogsmeade Station on the last day of term.

Lucius was holding court again. Narcissa was hanging on his arm and Bellatrix was laughing delightedly at one of his jokes.

Everyone was boarding the train and Severus still wasn't sure where he was going to sit. He knew that Lily was expecting him to sit with her but he'd been collared by Bellatrix early that morning and had been running errands for her ever since. He knew she was expecting him to continue to do so during the long journey back to London.

"Severus! Over here!" Lily called out from further down the platform.

"You're not actually going to answer her, are you?" Bellatrix sneered.

Severus stood silently as he looked from one girl to the other. The memories of the last year rushed through his mind and he knew he didn't want another year of sneaking around and hiding his friendship with Lily. He didn't want another year of Lily's accusations that their friendship meant nothing to him. He didn't want to sit with Bellatrix and the others. He wanted to sit with Lily.

In that moment he made a decision he'd been putting off all year.

"Yes," he replied.

"But she's a mudblood!" Bellatrix sneered.

"And he's a half-blood," Lucius commented. "Let him sit with her if he wants, just as long as he doesn't bring her into our carriage."

Severus quickly masked the glare that he couldn't help but shoot at the older boy.

Then he gathered his belongings and walked down the platform towards Lily, feeling braver in that moment than he had at any point all year. He might have been sorted into Slytherin house just like he'd wanted but perhaps there were traits of the other houses within him too. He was showing loyalty to Lily like a Hufflepuff, he'd got good marks in his exams like a Ravenclaw, and, though he was loathe to admit it out loud, just maybe there was a small dose of the Gryffindor courage residing within him too.

The End

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A/N: I hope you have enjoyed the story and if you have please do consider reading the parallel story of how Lupin saw the year progressing. It might answer some of your questions though I hope there weren't too many left lurking at the end here.

I am not going to be writing a sequel as I have no idea what to do for a second year plot. I know...the plot in this one was pretty weak and patchy...any sequel would be even more so. I think that the plot is probably the weakest point of the Origins stories. I think I got the characters in character and I don't think that any of my original characters are of the Mary Sue/Gary Stu variety. But plotwise, this is not one of my best. I admit it and would like to say that some of my other fics have better plots than these do.

A big thank you to everyone who had read this story, favourited/alerted this story, and especially to everyone who has taken the time to review it.


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